Braced for Impact!
by BlaineyDays31
Summary: Kurt and Blaine are living in New York City, going to college and hanging out with Sam, Rachel and Santana. Suddenly, their lives are upended when an asteroid threatens to hit the Earth.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Hey Babe!" Kurt said with a smile into his phone. It was 3:00 and just 10 minutes before Blaine's next piano lesson. Kurt had made it a habit to call his adorable hazel-eyed boyfriend once a day just to check in and tell him how much he loved him.

"Hi Kurt. How's your day going?" Blaine replied brightly.

"Oh you know, the usual. Drowning in blog posts about leather socks." Kurt snickered. His job at Rogue had him working on some pretty weird things from time to time. "How was class?"

"Good. We choreographed the group number for Grease today and we're doing our first run through on Thursday. It's coming along great." Blaine had scored the part of Danny Zuko in his musical theatre class' production of Grease.

"I'm so glad you finally get to play Danny after turning down the part in high school because of me," Kurt joked as he ran his fingers along the edge of the wooden desk in his office. He was so lucky to have found this internship at Rogue and to have his own office and not have to sit in a cubical, or worse, be slinging burgers at a fast food place.

"Yes, but my Teen Angel was the best anyone had ever seen, so it was worth it. It will be nice to play such an iconic lead though."

"Are we still on for dinner tonight at your place?" Kurt inquired.

"Yes we are. I'm looking forward to it. Sam wants to know if you want to meet up for drinks afterwards. Santana is working at The Flame tonight and we can get cheap drinks."

"Sounds great. Have a great lesson. I'll see you later. Love you." Kurt said, hesitant to end the call, but he knew that Blaine had to prep for his next lesson.

"I love you too, Kurt. Bye. "

"Bye," Kurt sighed. Tuesdays were rough because he and Blaine didn't have any classes together. Blaine had his morning Musical Theater class at The NY Performing Arts Academy and Kurt had to work all afternoon at Rogue for his internship. Mondays and Wednesdays were always better since they had 2 of the same classes and time for lunch in between. He was so happy that Blaine was finally with him in New York. Last year when they had been apart because Blaine was still finishing high school had been rough. Now, they were happier than they had ever been. Just hearing Blaine for a few minutes on the phone made his heart sing. It helped him power through the rest of his day.

Kurt ran his fingers through his brown hair and then got up from his desk to grab another cup of coffee before re-reading the leather socks post he had written. They weren't technically leather, more like a brushed suede, but the whole thing seemed uncomfortable. I mean Kurt was all about suffering a little in the name of fashion but this seemed a little extreme. As he neared the break room, he could hear the news coming from the TV that hung on the wall near the coffee maker. The newscaster seemed frantic and spoke in a rushed, harried tone. Kurt wondered who'd been shot this week. It seemed that was always the lead story on the news in New York City.

As he poured his coffee he listened to the story. "A near earth object has been detected and NASA is taking extreme measures to try to deflect the asteroid from crossing paths with Earth. The asteroid is measuring about 2 miles wide at the moment and if they are not able to deflect it, will impact Earth within the next month. NASA is saying that there is no cause for panic at the moment as they are confident their measures will work."

Kurt looked up and nearly spilled the coffee all over his hand as he forgot to stop pouring. "What the hell?" he muttered. Were they for real? This sort of thing never really happens, it's either something that serves as the plot of a Sci-fi movie or something that scientists say could happen but probably not in our lifetime. How did a 2 mile wide asteroid just sneak up on us? Better question is why were they telling us about it? The world is sure to panic, contrary to them telling us all not to panic. Kurt's first instinct was to call Blaine, but he was in the middle of teaching a piano lesson. So he strode down the hall and into his boss' office.

Isabelle Wright, the editor in chief of Rogue, sat at her desk surrounded by different types of leather products. Kurt could see leather socks were not going to be the end of this bizarre trend they were exploring. His mind was racing a mile a minute with the thoughts of what would happen if this thing really did hit the Earth. How could he broach the subject with Isabelle without seeming completely crazy?

Isabelle looked up from the suede thong she had in her hands and saw Kurt's panicked face looking back at her. "It's a little much, I know. You wouldn't think suede would be the right material for a thong. Patent leather maybe, but suede. I think they've gone too far with this leather thing."

"What? Oh, no! That's not why I'm standing here dumbfounded. Did you happen to hear the news today?" Kurt sputtered out.

"Did another person get shot? Oh Kurt, honey, you're going to have to get used to that. You're in NY now, not Ohio any more. People get shot here daily. Or run over by trains. Or mugged, but that rarely makes the news." Isabelle stated in her usual flowery, blasé manner.

Kurt was shaking his head. How could he put this to her? "Isabelle, turn on the news. I'm not even sure how to tell you. There aren't any words."

She quickly tapped into her browser as she said to Kurt, "We aren't getting another hurricane are we? Or a Super Storm? Because I can't rebuild my Hamptons house twice in two years' time." As the browser came up the lead story hit her in the same manner it must have hit Kurt because her face went from indifference to concern. Her brows furrowed and nose wrinkled as she read the headline: "Giant Asteroid to hit Earth Next Month".

She looked up at Kurt and saw the panic in his eyes and then looked back down at the screen. "What's today's date, Kurt?" she said.

"What? It's April 5. Why?" Kurt was confused how the date was relevant.

"Maybe it's just a late April Fool's joke. I mean, this can't be real, can it?" Isabelle stated flatly, still in shock. She grabbed her leather wrapped coffee mug and took a long sip, while rolling over the details of what she had just read.

"An April Fool's joke 5 days late and covered by multiple networks?" Kurt said. "Isabelle, what if it's real?"

"Well, we can always hide in the Rogue Vault. That's rumored to be able to withstand a nuclear blast. And if it's not, we'll go out surrounded by couture. There are worse ways to die." She was joking, but there was an edge of seriousness in her voice. She looked up at Kurt, still standing in front of her with his coffee cup drooping in his hand and a worried pout on his face. "Oh Kurt, there's nothing we can do about it right now. We'll have to wait until they tell us what we can do. Until then, if we don't publish the leather socks story, we'll have bigger problems to deal with than an asteroid."

Kurt laughed but he was still spooked. "I'm proofreading it now and I'll have it to your inbox within the hour."

"I'll be anxiously awaiting it!" Isabelle said as she stood up, giving Kurt a beaming grin, as he walked out of her office and back to his own.

Back in his office, Kurt fiddled with a leather swatch as he stared blankly at his laptop. He must have reread the same sentence 5 times before he actually registered what it said. He had to pull himself together and get this proofread and over to Isabelle. She was right, there was nothing he could do about it right now. He had to focus and get this done and he'd be able to talk about it with Blaine over dinner tonight.

Blaine patted the young boy on the back. "Good job, Gabe. Keep practicing the scales and we'll move onto something more challenging next week."

The boy smiled at Blaine, "Thanks Mr. Blaine! See you next week." He left the studio, hand in hand with his mother. Blaine was so lucky to find a job teaching piano to kids in Brooklyn. There was a small music studio a few blocks down from his apartment that specialized in teaching music to kids. Blaine had played the piano since he was young and had always wanted the chance to teach others. When he saw the advertisement in the window for a piano teacher, he had to go inside to inquire. It didn't pay a ton, but he was able to work around his school schedule and he loved working with the kids.

Since it was his last lesson of the day, Blaine straightened up the room, turned the lights off and locked up behind him. The lesson space was in the back section of the music store, and Blaine eyed up the guitars hanging on the wall on his way out. He really wanted to learn to play guitar next, but he was saving up for something more important at the moment. The guitar would have to wait.

"See you later, Jared!" he said to his boss as he walked out of the music shop and into the still cool Brooklyn afternoon. New York didn't start to get hot and sticky until the end of May/early June and he was enjoying the walk home while he could. He could hardly wait for his dinner tonight with Kurt. He had an hour or so to get his place cleaned up and dinner prepared. Living with Sam posed a unique challenge in that he never really knew what condition his apartment was going to be in when he got home. Sam had a bit of a problem with cleaning up after himself. There were usually half drunk water bottles, dirty hoodies and sweatpants strewn about the apartment. However, he had known Sam since they went to high school together back in Ohio and they were best friends. So he tolerated the mess because not everyone got to live with their best friend.

The front door was locked as Blaine tried it, so Sam must not be home. He usually left Blaine a note to let him know if he were going out or when he'd be home. Sam came home at an inopportune time once and caught the beginning of a heavy make out session between Blaine and Kurt, and ever since then he's been careful to let Blaine know when he'd be home. At least they had their own bedrooms, unlike at Kurt's apartment where the only thing separating Kurt's bed from the rest of the apartment was a thin sheet. Not all that private or noise proof, so most times they ended up at Blaine's place.

He looked around as he walked into the apartment and saw that it wasn't too bad. Sam must have been out most of the day. There was a pink Post-it on the refrigerator that stated Sam was going to be on an all-day modeling shoot in New Jersey and not to wait for him for dinner. "Good," Blaine thought. They could have dinner alone. He left a note for Sam letting him know they would be at The Flame later if he wanted to join them for drinks and then he set about getting the table set for dinner.

Even though they often ate dinner together, Blaine liked to dress the table with flowers and candles. Kurt loved the extra effort and attention to detail that Blaine put into a simple meal together. Between that and drinks tonight, Kurt might be up for trying some more adventurous things in the bedroom later. Blaine smiled at that thought as he took the ingredients for baked chipotle chicken out of the fridge. They both enjoyed spicy foods and this particular meal only took about 45 minutes to prep and cook so it would be done by the time Kurt got there.

"Hello! Blaine, you here?" Kurt asked as he walked into Blaine and Sam's apartment.

"In here," Blaine yelled from the kitchen. He was just putting the finishing touches on dinner and was carrying the plates to the table when he stopped short in his tracks. Kurt was standing there in front of him, face pale and eyes shiny with unshed tears. Blaine knew right away that something was terribly wrong. He put the plates down quickly and walked over to embrace his boyfriend. "What is it, sweetie?" Blaine said as he wrapped his arms around Kurt and rested his head on his shoulder.

"Blaine, have you seen the news?" Kurt asked.

"No, I had my iPod playing while I was cooking dinner. I was craving some Sam Cooke. Why? What's wrong? Was someone we know shot?" Blaine asked with some trepidation.

"What? No! Why does everyone assume someone's been shot?"

"Well, it is a daily occurrence in New York, so it wasn't really a stretch. What happened then? What has you so worried?" Blaine asked as he rubbed Kurt's back gently in an effort to calm him.

"An asteroid is headed straight for Earth!"

"Excuse me, what? Are you kidding?" he asked carefully.

"Turn on the news. It's 6pm, it should be on," Kurt said as he grabbed the remote and put the TV on the local news channel. Sure enough, they recounted the story from earlier with the exact details. Blaine stood quietly beside Kurt watching with an increasing look of horror on his face. After the segment ended, he grabbed the remote from Kurt, turned the TV off and faced him.

Grabbing both of Kurt's hands, he said to him, "I know this is unsettling, and I am scared too, but whatever happens, we will get through it together. NASA is apparently confident they can do something to redirect it, and they have a whole month. Let's not get too upset just yet."

Kurt wrapped his arms around the shorter boy and bent his head down to nestle in the crook of his neck. He inhaled deeply and instantly the unique scent of Blaine started to calm his nerves. He loved being in his boyfriend's arms. It was a safe place and Blaine was his home, his life. He knew Blaine was right, that together they could get through anything. He gave his dark haired boyfriend a squeeze, a quick kiss on the lips and stepped back so he could look him in the eyes. "Thanks, you always know how to make me feel better. I've been upset about this all afternoon and I couldn't wait to get home and talk to you about it. It's surreal but I know we'll get through whatever it is that might happen."

Blaine pulled Kurt closer to him so he could look into his blue eyes. He kissed him softly on his lips as he ran his hands up Kurt's arms. Then he pulled him in closer and deepened the kiss as he rested his hands on the small of Kurt's back. When he was beginning to feel the heat increase between them, Blaine ended the kiss, leaving Kurt breathless. "Dinner?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm famished and whatever you made smells amazing!"

The bar was buzzing with news of the asteroid and Blaine was worried that it would send Kurt into a tailspin again. They had such a nice dinner and now Rachel's annoying squeaky tone threatened to make Kurt worry again. He loved Rachel but she was such a drama queen and an alarmist. Sometimes she just needed to shut up. Reaching over the bar, Blaine signaled to Santana, who was tending bar, to refill Rachel's drink. Maybe if he got her buzzed she'd start dancing or singing and forget about the current topic she was prattling on about.

"I feel you, short stuff. All I can hear is her high pitched voice over all this bar noise. What on God's green earth is she freaking out about?" sighed Santana as she handed Blaine two pink colored drinks.

"Haven't you heard? The world's going to end next month." Blaine had a little buzz going so he was less upset about it than he had been earlier. Plus, after hearing Rachel drone on about it for the last hour, the whole subject had lost its initial shock value.

"Oh yeah, we're going down 'Deep Impact' style, right?" Santana said with a grin. She had obviously heard enough about this tonight as well. "Well, I can turn on the karaoke machine soon and that should get her nice and distracted."

Blaine laughed. As obnoxious as Santana was, she did know how to handle Rachel. After Santana poured a few more drinks, she wiped her hands and headed towards the stage to turn on karaoke.

"Rachel Berry, you know you want to be the first up on this thing, so get your perky butt up here, girl!" Santana yelled into the mic.

Rachel threw her hands up in the air and shrieked as she ran towards the stage. She never turned down the opportunity to sing in front of an audience. Kurt let out an audible sigh of relief and leaned back into his boyfriend as he wrapped his arms around Kurt. Blaine could feel Kurt relax into him and was grateful to Santana for her idea.

Rachel picked her song and queued it up and as she took the mic out of its stand, the first few notes of the song played. Blaine froze. Kurt tensed in his arms. She. Did. Not!

The title of the song splashed across the screen as Rachel opened her mouth to sing the first line. "It's the End of the World as We Know It" by REM. Blaine grimaced and threw his head back in disbelief. The girl never did have any tact. Not caring about being polite at this point, he grabbed Kurt's hand and led him out of the bar and onto the sidewalk.

"I think it's time we head home. We have class in the morning," said Blaine, knowing that Kurt was already on board with the plan.

They walked to the subway stop for the F train and descended the stairs to the platform. The only thing Blaine hated about the Lower East side was that they only had access to the F train. So they'd either have to take it uptown to transfer to another line or walk a few extra blocks once they got to Brooklyn. Kurt leaned against the dirty green metal column on the platform and Blaine knew he was drunk. He wouldn't chance getting dirt and germs on his outfit otherwise. Blaine decided to take the downtown train and walk the few extra blocks to clear their heads and sober them up a bit.

The train arrived a few minutes later and they were lucky enough to get a seat. Blaine was still getting used to riding the subway standing up. He always faltered as the train was taking off from the station and in his current condition, it would just be worse. Kurt rested his head against Blaine's shoulder and linked his fingers through Blaine's. They rode the 30 minutes to Brooklyn like that in silence. He knew Kurt's brain was still in overtime despite his state but he didn't know what to say to make him feel better, especially since Blaine still had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.


	2. Chapter 2

7 am came early and Blaine wondered why he let Kurt talk him into an 8:30 class. It seemed like a good idea at the time when they were picking their schedules at the end of last semester. In practice, though, it was brutal. Mondays and Wednesdays they had a 3 hour Dance Mechanics lab, followed by a long lunch break and then a 2 hour History of Theater course. It was great to be able to spend the day together but Blaine wished it started about 2 hours later.

Kurt, on the other hand, was already out of bed and doing push-ups on the floor next to his bed, wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. He was definitely a morning person. Blaine rolled over to the other side of his queen sized bed to get a better view of his boyfriend's rear end as it bobbed up and down. He could see the beginning beads of sweat forming along Kurt's brow line and along the center of his back. Kurt's biceps flexed every time he lowered his chest to the ground and his calf muscles responded in turn. There wasn't an extra ounce of fat on his toned body. Blaine reached down and palmed himself through his underwear trying to calm himself down enough to climb in the shower and let Kurt finish his workout. He managed to take a shower and get himself dressed without incident despite the early morning eye candy. Another reason to hate early classes- not enough time for morning sex.

Arm in arm, coffee in hand, the two men walked to the subway station together. Once on the platform, Blaine stood in front of Kurt, with Kurt's arms draped over his shoulders. Kurt was almost a whole head taller than Blaine and the platform shoes he was wearing today only made the height difference more noticeable. Kurt was wearing his dance clothes, which were still fashionable even though they just consisted of shorts over leggings and a solid black, torso hugging t-shirt. He had a black scarf wrapped around his neck. As he leaned back into Kurt, he could feel his steady breathing and heartbeat. The entire subway platform seemed to disappear around them as they stood there, content just to be in each other's arms. Blaine was happy to see that Kurt seemed calmer this morning about the whole asteroid situation.

They entered the train and grabbed onto the poles, since there were no seats available at this hour. Once the train started, Blaine spotted one of the usual subway crazies out of the corner of his eye. It was an older bearded man that appeared to not have showered in a few decades. He had his hands up in the air and was about to unleash a tirade. Blaine tensed as the man started yelling about end times and repenting. He saw the look in Kurt's eyes and the reaction he had was different than any other time they met a subway crazy. Usually Kurt chuckled or just ignored them, but this time he could see Kurt's eyes dilate with worry. Blaine knew he was thinking about the news from yesterday again. Thankfully their stop was coming up soon.

As they were getting off at their stop, Blaine's phone beeped with a text message from Sam.

Sam: Dude, you left your History of Theater book here. You want me to run it over to school for you?

Blaine: No, man, I don't have that class until this afternoon. I'll run home at lunch break and get it. Thanks though.

Sam: No problem. I'm out for the day. Going running with Heidi and then we're spending the day at Coney Island. See you tonight.

Blaine: Have fun! See you later.

An empty apartment at lunch break? Blaine was definitely dragging Kurt home with him in between classes today. He knew just how to take his mind off of things.

"Everything okay?" asked Kurt as they walked into class.

"Yeah, we have to go to my apartment for lunch. Sam told me I forgot my book at home for our afternoon class."

"Sounds good." Kurt said, not really paying attention to Blaine, his mind elsewhere. Blaine clamped his hand down on Kurt's shoulder to get his attention. Class was about to begin and Kurt was still in his own little world.

Blaine's apartment was empty, as he expected. Sam was at Coney Island, with his model girlfriend, Heidi. They met during one of Sam's underwear shoots and had been dating ever since. He walked in and plugged his iPod into the small speakers and put on Kurt's favorite relaxing mix. Kurt was headed to the kitchen to prepare some salads for the two of them for lunch while Blaine slipped his forgotten history book into his shoulder bag. While Kurt was carefully cutting cucumbers for their salads, Blaine came up behind him and slipped his arms around his waist. He leaned his chin on Kurt's shoulder and watched him expertly chop the vegetables. Kurt spent so much time in Blaine's apartment that he knew where everything was in the small kitchen. Heck, Kurt had helped him buy most of what was in his apartment. He loved this domestic side of their relationship. Yes, they'd had their ups and downs, which is why they decided to keep separate apartments, but they still managed to spend most of their time together.

"You smell good," Blaine whispered in his ear. Just the scent of him made Blaine's pulse race.

"Ha! Thanks. It's 3 hours of dance sweat mixed with Molton Brown body wash from this morning."

Kurt finished chopping the vegetables, and scooped them up into the two bowls. He turned around to face Blaine, hands wet, and tried to head towards the sink. Blaine's mouth intercepted his and any forward progress he was trying to make was halted. Kurt dangled his hands over Blaine's shoulders so that he wouldn't get water on him and returned the kiss.

"Hurry up and eat because I don't know where you've been all morning but I plan on bringing you back to reality before we go back to class," Blaine said with a smirk as he stepped out of the way and let his now intrigued boyfriend get to the sink.

Kurt was distracted all through lunch but for a different reason than before. He could feel Blaine's eyes on him and Blaine's foot touching his foot while they ate their salads. Now Blaine had his arms on Kurt's hips and was backing him up into his room. He closed the door with his hip and pushed Kurt's back up against the door. They didn't have a lot of time, but he fully intended on getting Kurt off.

There was a feral look in Blaine's eyes as pulled Kurt's shirt up over his head and discarded it on the floor. He knew the taller man was really turned on because normally he would make a fuss about his couture ending up on the floor. He then hastily took his own shirt off, grabbed Kurt's wrists and held them above his head, pinned to the door. His mouth was on Kurt's, stifling the moan from him as Blaine's hips grinded against him.

Kurt was being held up against the door while Blaine's body pressed up against the entire length of his. He loved when Blaine took control and he could just let his mind shut off and enjoy the things his gorgeous dark haired boyfriend was doing to him.

He pressed his tongue against Kurt's lips, parting them and deepening the kiss. Their tongues twisted and turned together and Blaine could feel how excited his gorgeous boyfriend was by the way he was straining against his shorts.

"Mmmmm, Blaine," Kurt murmured, still pinned by Blaine's hands.

He moved his kisses to Kurt's neck, nipping and sucking just below his ear. He used the hand that wasn't holding Kurt's wrists to reach around behind him and place his hand against the small of his back to pull him even closer, letting Kurt know the effect he had on Blaine.

Blaine's kisses got more aggressive, his body holding Kurt against the door, both of them panting with need. He broke away long enough to slip his fingers into the waistband of Kurt's shorts and slide them down his legs. His mouth returned to Kurt's, releasing his wrists and running his fingers through his hair. He moved his mouth to Kurt's neck, his tongue tracing a path along the tender spot below his ear. He nipped his neck with his teeth, then sucked and licked a path down to his chest. Kurt surrendered himself to the feeling of Blaine's mouth on his skin and to the jolt of desire caused by the friction from Blaine's jeans against his erection. Heat spiked through Kurt every time he felt Blaine press up against him, his pulse raced and he needed to feel more of Blaine.

Blaine loved the way Kurt's body responded to his touch, the way his eyes dilated with desire and his heartbeat sped up. He could get lost pleasuring this beautiful man in front of him, but they had to be back at class and he needed to speed this up. Blaine slid off his jeans and his underwear and made short work of Kurt's boxer briefs before kneeling before him. He flicked his tongue out to taste Kurt's tip, already wet with pre-cum. As he looked up to see Kurt looking down at him, he wrapped his mouth around him and sucked, moaning at the salty taste of his skin.

Blaine reached between his own thighs trying to calm the throbbing. He was afraid it might be over for him before he even finished with Kurt, especially if Kurt kept panting and moaning like he was.

"Oh, yes Blaine!" Kurt bucked his hips out slightly, forcing Blaine's mouth further onto him.

That was all the encouragement Blaine needed. He wrapped his one hand around the base of Kurt's cock, while he ran his mouth up and down. His other hand cupped Kurt's balls, massaging them, waiting for that sign that Kurt was ready to explode. Blaine had done this a thousand times to Kurt, but the feeling was still as intense as the first time they had done it back in high school. It had gotten better as he grew to know how Kurt's body reacted to his touch.

Still pinned against the door, Kurt breathed, "MMMmmmmmm, so close. Blaine! MMMmmmm."

Blaine picked up the pace and sucked him into his mouth harder, his tongue licking him as his mouth moved up and down his shaft. He knew just how to make Kurt come and knew he was close when he felt Kurt's thigh muscles tighten, so he sank down on Kurt so far that he could feel him deep in his mouth, his throat muscles contracting against the head of his cock. Kurt felt heat deep in his belly and tingles all over his body as he climaxed deep in Blaine's mouth. Kurt's cock was throbbing against the muscles in the back of Blaine's throat and he grabbed Blaine's hair to steady himself so he wouldn't fall over. Blaine continued to lick and suck him through the waves of his orgasm until he heard his breathing slow down and his muscles relax a little.

As soon as his head cleared a little from the pleasure still coursing through him, Kurt bent down and pushed Blaine onto his back on the carpet.

"Don't think you are getting out of here without letting me taking care of you." Kurt said, "Even if we do have to be quick."

"Stupid class!" Blaine replied as he reached behind him, grabbed the bottle of lube from the drawer and slicked himself up. "It won't take long, you have me so hot already, baby. I need to feel your hands on me, please?"

Kurt rolled onto his side and kissed Blaine fiercely on the lips, as his hands made his way down to grip his awaiting cock. He stroked him slowly at first, his mouth on Blaine's, matching the pace. But it didn't take long until Blaine was writhing beneath him, panting and begging for him to go faster, harder. Kurt plunged his tongue into Blaine's mouth as he sped up his pace, his hand twisting around his length and up over the head. He gave a squeeze as he reached the top and quickly slid his hand back down, repeating the motion, loving the feeling of Blaine so hard and slick in his hand.

Blaine's head was thrown back in pure lust as Kurt nipped at his neck and collarbone. He felt Blaine getting close and sucked at the skin on his chest, right over his heart, leaving a mark. The sensation went right to Blaine's core and pushed him over the edge to his climax.

"Ooooh fuck, Kurt!" he moaned as he came down Kurt's hand, the sticky substance landing on his stomach. Kurt continued to stroke him until the last waves of pleasure tore through his body and he relaxed against the carpet. Kurt sank down next to him and nuzzled his chest. Blaine leaned over, kissed his forehead and smiled, happy to see Kurt finally relaxed and sated.

"MMmmm that was perfect. I should forget my history book at home more often," Blaine joked.

_A Few Days Later….._

"_NASA has stated that their plan to deflect the Near Earth Object is in place and ready to go. They are confident that the spacecraft they are sending up will be able to propel the asteroid and knock it out of the collision path with Earth."_

Kurt breathed a sigh of relief and sank down further into his boyfriend's arms. They had been snuggling together on Kurt's couch, like they usually did on Sunday nights. Rachel had to work her part-time job at the diner on Sundays, so they had the apartment to themselves.

"See, I told you they'd handle it. We have so much technology these days, that we can pretty much do anything as long as we have ample notice," said Blaine as he rubbed Kurt's arm.

"I know, you're right. I was just so worried. There are so many things that I want to do before the Earth is obliterated. We haven't even scratched the surface yet, Blaine."

"Oh really? Tell me some of these things. You have a bucket list?" joked Blaine.

"Don't you?" He whipped out his phone and started scrolling through it, looking for highlights to share. "Number 25- Go on a hot air balloon ride. Number 42- See a show at every theater on Broadway (and slightly off Broadway) Number 85- Star as Erik in Phantom of the Opera and be allowed to have as many candles as I wish on stage."

Blaine laughed hysterically, remembering the amount of candles Kurt had when he wanted to sing Phantom for his audition to The NY Performing Arts Academy. "Candles…" he shook his head. "Any others?"

"Well there's this embarrassing one about Taylor Lautner but I came up with that before I met you." Kurt nuzzled his head into Blaine's neck and kissed him softly. "I didn't even get into my bedroom bucket list."

"I'm good with starting to cross stuff off of that list now. Let's not waste time!" Blaine exclaimed as he tickled Kurt's sides and reveled in the way it made him squirm in his lap.

"We have to finish this movie, Blaine! I have to have it back to Redbox by tomorrow afternoon!"

Unaffected by Kurt's protests he stated, "I'll give you the dollar for the extra night's rental." Then he picked up his still wiggling boyfriend, and drug him off to Kurt's bed.

Breakfast together at the little coffee shop near Kurt's apartment was one of Blaine's favorite times of the day. That's if they managed to make it out of bed early enough to have breakfast before their 8:30 class. Today was one of those days and it was shaping up to be great so far. They had Blaine's medium drip ready and his favorite chocolate pastry heated up for him when they saw him arrive. Kurt had his fruit and yogurt and his mocha latte and they were discussing their upcoming week.

"So when do Nick and Jeff get in town?" Kurt asked, as he took the top off of his cup and scooped a dab of whipped cream off his latte. Then he unabashedly licked the whipped cream from his finger as Blaine looked on in fascination.

He knew Kurt did that on purpose to see the reaction he got from him. His cheeks were bright red and he had lost his train of thought for a second. "Um, what? Oh Nick and Jeff! Yes, they are coming in tomorrow at 3, so by the time I am done with my piano lesson, they should be at my place."

"Great! Will they have time to go out that night or do they have to get right to filming?" Kurt asked.

Blaine's friends from Dalton Academy in Ohio lived in LA now and had their own successful web series. The premise was about getting people on the street to help them play practical jokes on their friends and sometimes celebrities. They got the green light from their backers to do a New York edition and would be staying with Blaine and Sam for a few days while they taped the show.

"No, they don't start until the next day. I was thinking we could hit The Flame again if everyone's up for it." Blaine said cautiously, remembering their last unsuccessful outing there.

"Sure. Maybe I can slip some valium into Rachel's hot water with lemon before we go out this time….." he snickered as he looked at his phone. "Oh hey! We're going to be late!" he sputtered as he leaped up to throw away his trash.

"3 hours of watching my boyfriend dance in tights. I can think of worse ways to spend a morning. Class awaits!" Blaine linked his arm around Kurt's and the two walked out happily towards class.

Sometimes Blaine had to stop and pinch himself. This is the life he had always wanted with Kurt. They had gone through so much together in high school, being one of the few "out" gay couples in their little town in Ohio. Then Kurt left for college a year before Blaine and their relationship fell apart, partly from the distance and partly from Blaine's insecurities. Towards the end of his senior year, and with help from Sam, and his other friends, Blaine was able to win Kurt back.

Now that they were in NY together, nothing was going to stop them from having the perfect life together. In fact, while Nick and Jeff were in town this week, he planned on having them help him plan the perfect proposal for Kurt. It had to be over the top and grandiose, the way Kurt liked everything in life. And there had to be candles. Lots of candles.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Man, is it good to see your scrawny little ass!" Nick exclaimed as he drew Blaine into a bear hug.

"You too, man!" he said, feeling short even though Nick was not much taller than him.

"How's things, Blaine?" Jeff said as Blaine turned and gave him a hug next.

"Couldn't be better, especially now that you two weirdoes are here! Come on in. Kurt will be here soon. He just left his office at a few minutes ago."

He led the men over to the couch and went to the fridge to get them all beer. "Hey before Kurt gets here, I need to talk to you two about something. I need your help," he said as he handed each of them a bottle of beer.

"Sure man, everything okay between you two? You said you have separate apartments. What's that about?" Nick asked, as he popped the top off the bottle.

"Oh, well, you know we were living together for the first few weeks, right? It was kind of stifling. Me getting used to a new city, Kurt getting used to seeing me all the time, and before things got bad, we decided it was better for Sam and I to get a place and have our own space. We're together nearly all of the time anyway, but it allows for some boundaries and personal space if we want it." Blaine shifted in his chair and looked up at his friends. He took a deep breath. "That's not why I wanted to talk to you, though. I've been thinking a lot lately about the future and with that asteroid scare, I started to wonder what happens if we only have a week left on this planet? I mean, life is short. Things happen. I don't want to wait any longer."

The two boys looked at Blaine in anticipation as Blaine steeled himself, "I want to propose to Kurt!"

Nick practically squealed and jumped all over Jeff. "Jeff, did you hear what he said? He wants to marry Kurt! How exciting!"

Poor Jeff was trying to avoid the flailing arms of the shorter man next to him. "Yeah Nick, I'm right here, I heard." Jeff turned to Blaine as Nick calmed down and sat in his seat, "That's great, Blaine! How can we help?"

Blaine smiled, "Well, I have an idea, but I might need you guys to call and coordinate, because like I said, the only time Kurt and I are really apart is when I'm at class or work. Let me tell you what I have planned…."

Shortly after they were done chatting about the plans for the proposal, Kurt popped in the door and Nick was trying hard to hide his excitement. Blaine shot him a look that said, "Don't you ruin this for me" as he walked over and embraced his boyfriend.

"Hey babe, how was your day?" Kurt asked.

"Good. Just catching up with the guys, waiting for my honey to get home," said Blaine as he kissed Kurt on the lips.

Nick stretched his arms out as he walked towards Kurt and pushed Blaine out of the way. "Hi Kurt! How's my second favorite Warbler?"

"HEY!" Blaine and Jeff said in unison.

"HAHA, Hi Nick, good to see you again. So glad you guys are here. I can't wait to hear about your plans for the web series." Nick and Jeff were the stars of a breakout web series on You Tube called "Got You!" They received some money from an interested investor to come to New York and tape some shows. After Kurt was done hugging Nick, Jeff finally got in a squeeze and the boys sat down to get caught up.

Sam walked into the office of his agent at Metro Modeling, waiting to hear what was next for him. He had already appeared mostly naked on the side of a New York City bus in an underwear ad, and had print ads in magazines for the same company. He was hoping to get a commercial or contract with a large men's clothing company, to be the face of their product. Something that would let him travel and make a decent living for a while.

"So, Sam, I think you are going to be really happy with this next product line I scored for you!" said Charlie, his agent. She had that fake smile on her face, like always. Sam was pretty sure it was the result of a lot of Botox and her face was just stuck that way.

Sitting down on the couch opposite her desk, he asked, "Really? That's great. So what is it?"

"Jockey!"

"Wow, like the men's underwear line?" asked Sam, excitedly.

"No, like actual jockeys."

"What?" Sam was confused.

"There's a company in Kentucky that is looking for a cute couple to model their new his and hers clothing line for jockeys. You know, jockeys, the little people who ride the horses?"

"But I'm 6'4"!" he shrieked.

"Yes, yes, so the clothes won't be to scale but who wants to buy clothes after you see them on those tiny little people?"

"Uhhhh, the tiny little people that are going to be buying the clothes?" Sam guessed.

"Nonsense! Short people don't sell clothes! Besides, this is a two person job. You get to take Heidi with you. You'll be doing the shoot together, and I'm sure they'll be time for a little sight-seeing afterwards. It'll be perfect! You'll see. Heidi already said yes. I talked to her earlier today. Are you on board?"

Sam was confused as to how this was going to work out, but it was a paying job and he got to travel and take Heidi with him, so it wasn't all bad. But Kentucky? Sight-seeing? He was pretty sure this wouldn't be the highlight of his career.

Sam shook his head and humbly said, "OK. Yes. Of course. I'm grateful you found such a great opportunity for me. Thank you!" and then, "When do we leave?"

"I've got you booked on a flight in 3 days. Get your stuff packed and I'll email you the details!" Charlie stood up and made a shooing motion with her hands to let Sam know she was done with him.

"Um, okay," he said as he rose, ducking slightly to avoid her shooing hand as he departed her office. "Bye."

As soon as he exited the building, he ducked into an area of shade along the wall and pulled out his phone to text Heidi. He met Heidi 6 months ago on a modeling shoot and they've been dating ever since. She was a native of New York City, and had been instrumental in helping him adapt to city life. They weren't in Ohio any more, but he was going back to Kentucky, which was right next to Ohio. This was not really what he had planned.

_Sam: So you said yes?_

_Heidi: LOL, I guess you talked to Charlie?_

_Sam: Yeah. And I'm confused, but it's a paying gig, right?_

_Heidi: Yes and we have a hotel room for a week all to ourselves. _

_Sam: I'm starting to get on board with this idea. :) _

_Heidi: Yes! _

_Heidi: Are we still meeting your friends at The Flame tonight for drinks?_

_Sam: Yes, 9pm. want to grab some Chipotle before we head over?_

_Heidi: You know I'd never turn down the offer of Chipotle! See you there_!

Sam headed back to his apartment to get changed and ready to meet Heidi. If he remembered correctly, some of Blaine and Kurt's old Dalton friends would be there. Perfect timing for him to be out of town on a shoot. He and Blaine were best friends, but he didn't know these guys besides the fact that they were in a rival show choir in high school.

As he approached the apartment he could hear the laughter already. He couldn't wait to tell Blaine the news about his new job. He was sure they'd all get a good laugh about it.

"So, let me get this straight, they want you, a 6'4" man, to model clothes that will be bought by people that average about 4 feet? I can't see how that's not a great idea," Blaine chuckled, but then felt bad about making light of Sam's new job. "I'm sorry, man. Listen, it sounds like a great opportunity and you get to spend time with Heidi. Alone. Bow chica wow wow!"

Sam slugged Blaine in the arm as the rest of the men exploded into another fit of laughter. "That's right! And I leave in 3 days, so you guys can stay in my room instead of on the couch."

"3 Days?" Blaine's face dropped. He wanted to propose to Kurt while his friends were in town, but he wanted Sam there too. He'd have to move up the time frame slightly. Nick gave him a knowing look, like he could read Blaine's mind.

"Yeah, well, I guess we could leave a little sooner and do some sight-seeing ahead…"

"No, no, that's fine," Blaine interrupted him. "It's just soon is all I meant."

"You coming with us to The Flame, Sam?" Kurt asked.

"Sure, but I have to meet Heidi for dinner first. I just came home to change. I'll catch up with you guys there," he said as he left the room to go get changed.

Kurt turned on the TV as the four sat down for dinner. He switched it over to the news to see if he could get an update on the asteroid situation.

"Tomorrow, NASA is scheduled to launch the unmanned ship that will make impact with the asteroid, knocking it off its collision course with Earth. We will have live coverage of the launch and follow up all day tomorrow on this channel."

The announcer then introduced a scientist that explained the process that would be used to knock the asteroid off course and all the potential risks that went along with the operation.

"The unmanned craft will make contact with the asteroid in 4 days. Once there, it will line up and hit the asteroid, knocking it off course and out of the path of the Earth's orbit. There is a possibility, however small, that the impact will not be enough to move it the necessary distance. If this should be the case, we will hit it with long range missiles once it gets nearer to Earth. We are confident that the spacecraft will be successful."

Blaine held his breath as he looked over at Kurt to see his reaction to the news. He didn't want Kurt to be so distracted that he wouldn't enjoy the amazing things he had planned for them on Thursday. Kurt just smiled as he turned away from the TV, and picked up Blaine's hand, giving it a squeeze.

"Looks like they are pretty sure we'll be okay," said Nick, as he shoveled a forkful of rice into his mouth.

"Yeah, they seem confident and they have a back-up plan," replied Kurt

"Well, honey, they are literally rocket scientists, so I think we're in good hands," Blaine said and then, "Who wants to help me mix up a batch of chocolate chip cookies for dessert?"

As Blaine stood up to walk into the kitchen, Kurt was already behind him, carrying his plate. "I'll help! And then I'll clear the table while they are baking." Chocolate chip cookies were Kurt's kryptonite and Blaine knew it. It was Blaine's second favorite way of taking Kurt's mind off of something worrisome.

It was a little before 7am and Blaine and Sam's apartment was buzzing with activity. Today was going to be a busy day for all of them. Sam was packing for his trip to Kentucky, Kurt and Blaine had classes all day and Nick and Jeff were starting their first day of filming.

"Where are you guys filming today?" Blaine asked Nick while they were getting some breakfast together for the group.

"I was thinking about Washington Square Park or Bryant Park."

Blaine thought about which park would be better for them on a Wednesday. "Washington Square Park is usually consistently busy. You're looking for a spot with a bunch of people that can help you play pranks, right?"

"Right. We have a prank today that requires the one friend to convince the other friend to do crazy things. The more things they get their friend to do, the bigger the prize they win," explained Nick.

"That sounds like a lot of fun! I hope you guys have a great time filming. If you need any help during the day, let me know. Our school is close to Washington Square Park."

"Great, thanks!" said Nick, and then he leaned closer to Blaine and whispered, "Don't worry, I'll have time to make that phone call for you today. I'll let you know how it goes. I'll take care of it for you."

Blaine put his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Thanks, man, I really appreciate it."

Nick winked at him as they brought the fruit and pastries they had gathered for breakfast into the main room.

"Nick, are you hitting on MY MAN?" Kurt joked. He must have seen the wink between Nick and Blaine.

"Never! Jeff would be terribly jealous if I did," Nick said as he smiled and wrapped his arms around Jeff and kissed him on the cheek.

"Damn right!" said Jeff with a chuckle.

Jeff and Nick had been dating now for a little over a year. They started out as friends and fellow rivals of Blaine's as they regularly competed for solos in their high school Glee club. Once Blaine left to join Kurt at his high school, they started singing duets together and eventually developed strong feelings for each other. After they helped Blaine win Kurt back during their senior year, Nick staged his own romantic gesture to ask Jeff out on a date. The two had been inseparable ever since.

Jeff couldn't wait to spend the day taping for their web series, exploring the city and helping Blaine with his top secret proposal plan. He loved Blaine, but damn if he didn't set the bar high for grand romantic gestures. This proposal to Kurt was going to be insane. If he and Nick got serious and they were considering marriage, they would have to agree to do things in their own way. Just like in high school, they couldn't even compete with Blaine.

After breakfast, the four gathered up all their belongings and headed out. Since Kurt and Blaine's university was at the same stop for Washington Square Park, they could all ride the subway together. It was rush hour, but in spite of that, the subway car was nearly empty. Kurt and Blaine sat down next to each other with Nick and Jeff sitting across the aisle from them. Blaine looked at them and could tell how happy they were together. They sat close to each other, holding hands, and glancing at each other blissfully. Nick reached up and pushed a stray strand of hair back behind Jeff's ear.

"It's so nice not to be glared at for holding hands with your boyfriend," Nick stated. "If this were a bus in Ohio, they might have the driver stop and kick us off. Even in LA we get stares from time to time. Not here though. People barely bat an eye."

Blaine laughed, "You'd have to do a lot more here than just hold hands to get funny looks. Have you seen some of the people in New York City? Wait until you get to the park. There's a lady there that looks like a statue with pigeons on it. There are hundreds of pigeons all over her- on her head, her shoulders, her lap. Then she moves and you realize it's a person. It's so creepy."

Kurt wrinkled his nose and shook his head in disgust. "It can't be sanitary. You know those birds are pooping all over her." Pigeons were gross.

Nick and Jeff both laughed. "Can't wait. I'm thinking we'll get some great footage," Jeff said and leaned his head down to rest on Nick's shoulder.

Blaine could not concentrate in his Dance Mechanics lab that morning. His body was going through the motions and he was listening to the professor direct them on the dance steps, but his head was in a fog. Even Kurt's firm hand on his hip wasn't enough to pull him out of his distracted state, and usually that hand distracted him for different reasons. He needed everything to go perfectly with his proposal and not having a lot of time to plan it and needing to trust others with pieces of it was driving him crazy. Plus, he was asking Kurt to marry him! What if he said no? What if he thought they were too young? Or even worse, what if he still didn't trust Blaine enough to spend the rest of his life with him? Ugh! Now his stomach started to hurt too.

Kurt guided Blaine through the moves, and Blaine's body responded in turn, like the two men had been dancing together their whole lives. Blaine hoped Kurt wouldn't guess what was on his mind. The man had an uncanny knack for being 3 steps ahead of Blaine when it came to surprises. Even though it was a terrible thing to think, Blaine hoped that the asteroid story was enough to occupy Kurt's mind and keep him from finding out about what he had planned. He felt Kurt's arm around his back, gently pushing him into their next steps. Blaine looked up, met his partner's eyes, and smiled. That brought him back to the present and to the usual sensation he felt from having Kurt's hands on him. Regardless of the early time, this was definitely one of his favorite classes.

Once class ended, Blaine raced to check his phone and see if his friends had found any information for him. There were two messages from Nick.

_Nick: It's a go. Details later. _

_Nick: This park is great! And so are the people. You guys up for lunch? We could use a break. _

"Everything OK?" Kurt asked.

"Oh, yes, it's just Nick… Hey, do you want to meet the guys at Washington Square Park for lunch?"

"I'd love to! Let's change first though. I am not walking around the park in my dance tights."

After they changed and freshened up a bit, the two men headed over to meet their friends for lunch. Blaine didn't know what voodoo Kurt employed when doing his hair, but it still looked flawless after 3 hours of sweating. Meanwhile, Blaine's hair was even more plastered to his head than usual, and he was pretty sure there was raspberry hair gel oozing down his neck. They walked hand in hand down the street and into the park, where they saw their friends interviewing a lady with a stuffed animal on a leash. It wasn't even a stuffed dog on a leash. It appeared to be a plush purple monkey. One day Blaine would get used to the uniqueness of the people living in New York City.

While waiting for them to finish interviewing the woman, Kurt looked at Blaine standing next to him and felt so happy to have him here finally. They were each at their best when they were together, in the same city. When he first got here, Kurt felt a little smothered by Blaine's constant presence, since he was used to living alone for over 9 months. But after Blaine moved in with Sam, he started to realize how much he missed him, even though he was only in a different part of Brooklyn. Yes, they spent most nights at each other's apartments and they had classes together, but it wasn't enough. Kurt needed Blaine around him all the time. The distance had given him perspective. Maybe they could find their own apartment together when Blaine's lease was up.

It was so hard not to openly laugh at the woman with the monkey on a leash. She didn't appear to be doing it as a joke, and Kurt did not want to be the only one in the park to laugh. He looked at Blaine and rolled his eyes. Blaine held back a giggle and nodded in agreement. She finished up talking to Nick, straightened out the leash, and walked right by Kurt and Blaine with a nod and a smile. The two just smiled as they approached Nick and Jeff.

"What the heck was her story?" asked Blaine.

"You'll have to wait for the video! We are going to have to rethink our pranks. People here are not fazed by much, so the things we have thought up are nothing in comparison to what really happens on a day to day basis here." Nick shook his head in disbelief, "Do you know how hard it is to keep a straight face when talking to some of these people?"

"Thank goodness the camera hides most of my face," Jeff added as he put the camera down on a nearby bench.

"Where are we going for lunch? I'm starving!" asked Nick.

"There's a great little deli on the corner over there, we can pick up some sandwiches and sit outside," Kurt suggested as he pointed to the corner at the north side of the park.

The deli was small but they had tables out on the sidewalk so the 4 friends sat down with their sandwiches, situating themselves under the shade of the umbrella. Blaine was still trying to get used to eating lunch on a sidewalk as people passed by 2 feet from where they ate. It was better than sitting inside the small, dark, barely air conditioned deli though. The black metal chairs were warm from the sun and the heat felt good on his legs that were a little sore from dance class.

"So how's the web series going?" Blaine asked.

Nick was mid bite at that moment so Jeff answered, "It's going well. We were hoping to have You Tube pick it up as a featured channel and get even more money from sponsors but for right now we're mostly using it as a portfolio when we audition for other parts. It shows that we can act, direct and produce. Nick has gotten a few callbacks for some bit parts on some sitcoms. I'm hoping to land a part with a pharmaceutical company for a commercial. I am supposed to hear back from them soon."

"Oh really?" Kurt said. "What company? That sounds like a great opportunity"

Nick nearly spat out his iced tea, "Yes, Jeff, what pharmaceutical company would that be? Please, tell them what product you'd be advertising." The snickering was becoming more of a full out laugh as he saw the look on Jeff's face.

"Jmemem itjeja cream…." Jeff mumbled incoherently.

"What?" Blaine and Kurt said simultaneously.

"Jock itch cream," Jeff clarified as he scowled.

Nick howled, "He was walking around the house practicing his line for days. 'Now there's relief for that unscratchable itch' I love you dearly, Jeff, but that has got to be the worst line ever. You nailed it though. I'd buy that cream from you."

Blaine and Kurt tried to hide their laughter from their obviously mortified friend as Blaine commented, "I mean, hey man, a job's a job. Getting your face out there in any form can only help you in the long run. And if you get the part, you get paid. Money's money. Good for you, I hope you hear from them soon."

"You are a good friend Blaine Anderson." Jeff said and patted Blaine on the back. "Thanks for at least pretending that's not totally the worst thing ever."

"It's not. You did see the lady with a stuffed animal on a leash today, right?" All four of them laughed.

After lunch, Kurt and Blaine walked their friends back to the park and parted ways. They had class this afternoon and as boring as the History of Theater class sounded, they couldn't miss it. Blaine knew he was in for a long afternoon of thinking about all he had planned. This time, he'd be sitting instead of dancing and hoped he didn't space out too much.

Even Rachel was in on the proposal plan, as he needed someone to set up the candles. Who better than Rachel? They'd probably be vintage, scented candles too, knowing her tastes. As Blaine sat in the uncomfortable hard plastic desk chair, he felt a tingle of excitement crawl up his spine. He was really doing this. He was going to ask Kurt to be his husband. They would wake up every day next to each other, plan their lives together, decorate their home for the holidays together, and of course, have lots of sex. Then the doubt started sinking in to his head. What if Kurt didn't like the activity he had planned and refused to go? What if he lost the ring? What if he lost his nerve? He pushed all those thoughts aside as he heard, "Mr. Anderson? Your answer?"

"Well, yes. Of course. My answer is yes."

His professor looked annoyed. "I didn't ask you a yes or no question, Mr. Anderson. Why don't you join the class in this conversation now that I have your attention? The midterm is coming up and we are going over important material."

"Of course, I'm sorry. I'm paying attention."

Kurt looked embarrassed for him as Blaine straightened up in his chair and tried to pay closer attention. He just needed to make it through this class so he could talk to Nick about the details.

Later that evening, Kurt had to go over to his own apartment to get some laundry done, so Blaine had Nick and Jeff all to himself for the night. The three sat on the couch in his living room, beers in hand, watching Sam running around, trying to pack and furiously throwing things into a duffel bag.

"Dude, you know you aren't leaving forever, right?" Blaine asked as Sam rushed by him mumbling about finding his sunglasses.

"Yeah, I know, but it's Kentucky. Their stores don't sell the same things the New York stores do. I need to make sure I have everything!"

Blaine just laughed and shifted his focus to Nick, dying to know the details for the plan. "So? How'd it go with the errand I had you help me with today?"

"Great! Everything is paid for and reserved. You just need to get Kurt there. I spoke to him about the whole plan. We'll meet you at the end and have everyone rounded up and ready."

Blaine was so excited he was hopping up and down in his seat. "Thanks guys! Really. I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to call for me today. I can't believe I am doing this!" He took a long swig of beer to calm his nerves. "I'm so nervous. What if he's not ready?"

"Seriously, Blaine? I don't know the guy all that well besides that he can sing like no one else I've heard but even I can see it when you two are together that he is smitten. You are the only thing he sees, and in this city, that's saying something!" Jeff laughed.

"Yeah bro, I mean you two practically live together and spend every waking and sleeping moment together. I've never seen you happier. He'll say yes. And it's not like you have to get married right away. You can be engaged for a while before you start planning the wedding."

Blaine laughed, "Ha! Yeah. Kurt's probably already been planning his wedding since he was 4 years old. I have a feeling it will be one hell of a wedding." Maybe it was the beer or the fact that he knew everything was in place now, but his anxiety was replaced by a feeling of content. His feet were tingling a little, too but that was probably from the beer.

The 3 talked some more about their lives, and before they knew it, it was after midnight. Blaine needed to get some sleep as they had an epic day planned tomorrow. He snuggled into his bed, alone but happy. This might be the last night for a while that he slept without Kurt beside him.

The next morning, Blaine woke up before his alarm even went off. He jumped out of bed and into the shower. Today was the day! He needed to keep his excitement under control while he sat through class with Kurt later. He could always try to pass it off as having had too much coffee, but Kurt knew him so well, he'd probably see right through him. In high school, Kurt knew Rachel was throwing him a surprise birthday party before the guests were even invited. He let the warm water of the shower run over his face and down his body. He closed his eyes and concentrated on getting his breathing to slow down. Placing his hands against the cold tile and bowing his head, he let the streams of water trickled down his neck and chest in different sized rivulets. Just as he was feeling calmer, there was a loud banging on the bathroom door.

He heard Nick's muffled voice through the door and over the sound of the shower, "Dude! They are launching the rocket tonight. You'll be able to see it from where you and Kurt will be! Isn't that great? So romantic!"

Blaine shook his head. It was high school all over again. He could never shower in peace with those two around. They were natural pranksters, so if they weren't stealing his towel, or flushing the toilet to turn the water scalding, they were dumping a bucket of cold water over the edge of the stall and onto him. "That is great, but it probably could've waited until I was out of the shower!"

"HAHA, sorry if I interrupted your 'me' time. My bad. Finish up! We need someone to help us navigate the subway."

Oh how he had missed his friends. Life was never dull with them around.

Later that morning, Blaine sat in class with Kurt next to him. He was trying really hard to not look too excited and to pay attention so the professor wouldn't call him out like yesterday. He was running all the aspects of his elaborate plan through his head again and again, hoping that all the people he was counting on for each piece of the plan would do their part.

After class let out, Blaine walked out of the building to see Kurt off to his internship at . He knew they wouldn't be apart for long, so he said goodbye to Kurt, kissed him quickly, and headed in the direction of the subway he'd need to take if he were going to his piano lessons in Brooklyn. As Blaine looked behind him, Kurt was walking down the sidewalk, and briefly turned around to give another wave to Blaine. Blaine descended the dirty stairs into the hot, smelly subway station and stayed there for a few minutes until he knew Kurt would be out of viewing range. He then nearly ran up the 3 flights of metal edged steps until he was once again at street level. It was time to get the plan in motion!

Kurt went into his office at and put his messenger bag on the chair beside his desk. He was just about to open his laptop when Isabelle came flying into his office, all in a tizzy.

"Kurt, sweetheart! How are you? Oh my goodness, isn't it a beautiful day? Oh, I almost forgot! These came for you." And with her usual flourish, she brought her arm from behind her back to reveal a simple bouquet of colorful wildflowers.

Kurt was shocked. Who would be sending him flowers at work? It wasn't a special date for him and Blaine, was it? Oh boy. He hoped he didn't screw up and miss an anniversary. He walked over and took the flowers from Isabelle and searched for a card. Isabelle was bouncing on her toes in anticipation as she watched Kurt try and figure out the mystery. He finally located the card, slid his finger underneath the opening and tore the top off the envelope.

The flowers were from Blaine but the weird part was that the card just said- "Look outside. Love, Blaine"

"What the….?" Muttered Kurt as he walked over to the window, utterly confused now. Isabelle raced over and joined him as he looked down to street level. There, in front of a black town car, was his boyfriend, dressed in a black dress shirt and jeans. The shirt was fitted so that it showed off the curves of Blaine's chest and arms. He followed the shirt down to see it was neatly tucked into jeans that also hugged his curves. He was dying to see them from the back. His breath hitched as he looked down and tried to figure out what was going on.

"Well, don't just stand here, go get that delicious man!" Isabelle said as she grabbed Kurt by the shoulders and ushered him out of his office. "You have the day off today! Go be with Blaine. Please! If you don't then I am getting in that car with him."

Kurt, still in a daze, turned around to gather his bag and the flowers and then headed down to meet Blaine. As he emerged from the building, Blaine's smile got even bigger. His beautiful boyfriend was practically glowing.

"What is this all about? Did I miss an anniversary? Please tell me I didn't forget an important date." Kurt said, as he embraced Blaine.

"Not at all! I decided that you've been pretty stressed lately and I thought we could go on a little adventure." Blaine's smile turned from glowing to devious. He took Kurt's bag from him and helped him into the backseat of the Town car.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," said Blaine as he took Kurt's hand in his and settled back in the seat for the ride of their lives.

A/N- Thanks to all of you who have started reading this and thanks to my buddy KellyB312 for sending you here! If you haven't read her stuff yet, Crowded House is fantastic. Klaine and Niff- alicious! And thanks to my proofreaders. You are spectacular.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Kurt was filled with apprehension. Blaine had picked him up from his internship in a Town Car and now the two were on their way north, maybe out of the city, and Blaine wouldn't tell him where they were going. It was infuriating but romantic. He looked over at Blaine trying to get a read on his demeanor. He was usually good at reading people and figuring things out beforehand.

Blaine's hands were in his lap and he was leaning back in his seat. He had a small smile on his face, obviously enjoying the state of suspense he had Kurt in at the moment. Kurt looked further down his body to his feet and saw that Blaine was tapping his foot rapidly. That was not the usual, "I have a song in my head" foot tap. It was a nervous energy foot tap. What was going on?

"Stop it! Just sit back and enjoy the ride." Blaine reached over and poured them both a glass of champagne, hoping it would distract Kurt and relax him a little.

"I can't relax. You know how I feel about surprises. Why don't you just tell me where we are going?"

"Because sometimes in life it's good to be surprised. It's part of the fun. We are going on an adventure. Just you and me. It's going to be epic!"

Kurt remained unconvinced. He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted at Blaine.

Blaine leaned over, kissed him on the cheek, and handed him a glass of champagne. He raised his glass to toast with Kurt. "To us!"

"To us." Kurt clinked his glass with Blaine's and gave him a little smile before taking a sip of the sweet bubbly liquid.

Kurt knew something was up but for once he did not even have a guess as to what it was. He looked around at their surroundings. They had left the city and there were a lot more trees and open space. Everything was just starting to turn green in early April and there was still a nip in the air. Thankfully, he'd had a jacket with him today as he was completely unprepared for this road trip.

Still leaning back in his seat and trying to look calm, Blaine was running over his speech again and again in his head. It shouldn't be this difficult to remember, as he was a trained performer! However, this was the most important monologue of his life so far, so he needed to nail it. He swirled the champagne around in the glass and took another sip, and then reached between them to hold Kurt's hand. They were almost to their destination and he couldn't wait to see the look on Kurt's face.

The car pulled into a long tree lined driveway that opened up to a large field with a white house with a red barn behind it. The car stopped in front of the house and the driver got out to open the door for the boys. Kurt looked around, nervous and confused. Where the heck were they? This place looked like the beginning of a few horror movies he had watched. Maybe Blaine wanted to go horseback riding or pick vegetables or something. God, he better not want him to experience life on a "true farm" and have them shoveling out horse stalls.

Blaine followed Kurt out of the car and linked arms with him, leading him around the house towards the barn.

"So help me God, Blaine, if I step in something with these shoes, it will be the end of you!"

"There aren't any animals here that I'm aware of, sweetie, so I think you are safe." Blaine's heartbeat sped up as he rounded the house and approached the entrance to the barn. He had linked arms with Kurt instead of holding his hand so the man wouldn't realize how sweaty his palms had become.

As they neared the barn, a man wearing khaki pants and a maroon colored polo shirt appeared. "Hi there! You must be Blaine and Kurt."

Blaine closed the distance and outstretched his moist hand to the man. "Yes, I'm Blaine and this is Kurt."

"And you are?" Kurt asked with a slight hint of anxiety.

"I'm Roger. Nice to meet you both. We are almost ready to go. My team is making the final preparations now. Why don't you come around back and I'll give you the safety briefing?" Roger led the boys around the back of the barn.

Kurt didn't like the sound of anything that needed a safety briefing. He was going to get his couture dirty for sure, he just knew it. Blaine had assured him there were no animals but he was fairly certain he was about to be led to some horses saddled up for a sunset ride or something. Begrudgingly going along with Blaine's insane plan, he slowly walked around the barn, ready to face his certain doom.

As he rounded the corner, his heart stopped completely. There were no horses, no animals at all, just a beautiful half inflated hot air balloon. The balloon was colored with a beautiful slanted stripe pattern of blues and purples and yellows. There were several people holding the basket and the balloon, trying to get it inflated enough to launch.

Kurt hadn't even realized he shrieked when he saw it but when he looked at Blaine, Blaine asked, "I take it you like this idea?"

Blaine was nearly knocked backwards from Kurt's hug. The taller man was jumping up and down, holding Blaine's hand and making happy noises. Any real speech had left him when he rounded that corner a few minutes ago. He couldn't believe Blaine had set this up for him and that he hadn't guessed what was up. To be fair though, who would've guessed Blaine would take him on a hot air balloon ride?

Roger came up next to them and motioned for them to join him at a small plastic table with chairs and some papers. "I want to go over the safety rules, have you both sign a waiver, and then we can get you soaring."

After the safety briefing, the balloon was fully inflated and ready to go. Kurt practically ran to the balloon, dragging Blaine by the hand. He was so excited and impressed that Blaine remembered this was one of the things from his bucket list. He truly did have the best boyfriend ever. As they climbed into the basket, he looked over at Blaine, who was also glowing with happiness. This was going to be fun!

"OK, guys, we're going to prep for takeoff. Hold on and remember, not to lean too far over the edge of the basket. Here we go!" Roger fired the burner, released the ropes holding the balloon to the ground, and the balloon lifted effortlessly into the air.

Blaine leaned against the side of the basket and pulled Kurt to him. "I told you it didn't involve animals."

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think you'd take me for a ride in a hot air balloon! Thank you so much. This is perfect," Kurt said as he leaned in and gave Blaine a quick kiss on the lips.

They gained altitude and drifted over the farm lands and orchards of New York. The land went from hilly forests to flat patchwork fields of crops just starting to grow up through the soil. The evening wasn't too cold, but they both had their jackets on because it got cooler the higher they climbed. On the horizon, the sun was getting lower and would set in about a half hour. Right now was the time of day that photographer's referred to as "The Golden Hour" because the light was soft and made everything glow with a golden hue.

Blaine pulled out his phone and took a quick picture of the two of them. Then Roger asked if Blaine wanted him to take the picture. Blaine handed Roger his phone and put his arm around Kurt. He took the phone back from Roger and looked at the picture. Perfect! They both looked so happy.

They drifted over a few houses and a river, the only sound was the breeze and the occasional firing of the burner that kept the balloon aloft. Blaine was going over the speech again in his head, and he stopped himself. He needed to take a moment and enjoy this experience, not just stress out about the proposal the whole time. Besides, as he looked over at Kurt, he saw a wide eyed grin, and it made Blaine want to pause this moment forever.

Looking out at the landscape below them, Kurt thought about where he was just a year ago. He was most of the way through his first year of college, separated from Blaine both in distance and in their relationship. The distance had made Blaine think Kurt didn't want to be with him and Kurt wasn't sure how to juggle his new life and his obligations to his boyfriend. Blaine felt like Kurt had forgotten him and Kurt was caving under the demands of his new life and couldn't figure out why Blaine wasn't more understanding. Tensions rose and the arguments increased and finally, they decided to take a break until Blaine could join him in New York.

That summer, after Blaine graduated from high school, he moved out to the city, moved in with Kurt and they immediately rekindled their relationship. They were so happy to be together again, that is until the stress of living together started. Kurt no longer had any time to himself. Blaine was trying to make up for being away for so long, almost like he was trying to "catch up" to Kurt. Before it got too bad again, they both agreed that it would be a good idea to live separately for a while. Blaine had moved in with Sam and he had kept living in the loft with Rachel. Since then, their relationship had been like something out of a fairy tale.

Kurt looked over at his Prince Charming and saw that the wind was blowing some of his curls free from the hair gel holding them down. He was gorgeous. Just looking at him still took his breath away sometimes. Now was one of those times. His tan skin glowed in the fading sunlight and his expression was serene as he looked into the distance.

He felt Kurt looking at him and turned to meet his gaze. "Are you having fun?"

"Oh my gosh, yes, Blaine! Thank you. This is more amazing then I thought it would be." He resisted the urge to bounce up and down for fear it would disturb the basket, but he was vibrating with happiness.

"Well, I just wanted to let you know how much I love you and give you a little break from all the stress you've been under lately."

"You are too sweet."

The sun was getting closer to the horizon and the trip would come to an end soon. They were both in silent awe of the scene in front of them as they floated hundreds of feet above the ground. Kurt's face was illuminated in the soft light, making his blue eyes sparkle even more than usual. Blaine sighed softly. He was so in love with this man. The giant heartfelt speech he had been going over again and again in his head suddenly seemed like too much for this moment. They stood side by side for a while in comfortable silence, enjoying the ride, Blaine contemplating what he wanted to say.

His beautiful boyfriend's breathing had slowed now and his excitement had turned into quiet delight. Blaine thought about his speech. Kurt knew about their past, he knew how much Blaine loved him, he knew how much Blaine wanted to spend every day of the rest of their lives together. All that was left was to ask the actual question. Right now, side by side, hearts beating in unison, nothing but the trees silently sweeping by them below, he decided that it was about the simplicity of the question. With less hesitation, he decided it would be awful to ruin this wonderful, intimate moment with a lengthy, albeit perfectly composed, speech.

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and moved closer to Kurt. Glancing at the man he wanted to spend forever with, he reached down, took Kurt's hand and slid a ring onto his finger.

"Marry me?" He whispered into his ear.

Kurt glanced down at his left ring finger and then at Blaine. He turned to face him, leaned his forehead against Blaine's and softly, he answered, "Yes."

Blaine closed the distance between their mouths and kissed Kurt like he'd never kissed him before. All the love, fear, doubt and anticipation culminated into sheer bliss. Kurt said yes!

Over his shoulder, Kurt heard the shutter of a camera. He had forgotten they weren't alone. Roger was there capturing the whole thing on his camera. Kurt kissed Blaine again and wrapped his arms around him in a hug. The sun had set and the sky was now a deeper shade of pink and purple.

"Blaine, this is gorgeous! I love it!" The ring was a thin band of brushed platinum with a small raised edge on each side. It was sized to fit Kurt's finger perfectly.

As Blaine was returning to his feet, he saw a streak of light across the sky. "Oh Kurt, look!" He pointed out to the east, which was a darker blue now from the impending twilight. "It's the spacecraft they are sending to destroy the asteroid. It's so pretty and harmless looking from here."

Kurt could see the streak of light and the bright dot that was the mile wide asteroid plummeting towards the Earth. Who cared about that damned asteroid? He was marrying Blaine! All of the stress and anxiety from the last few weeks left him completely as he stood next to his fiancé, looking out over the Earth from the basket of a hot air balloon.

Roger started the balloon's descent before they lost all light. He radioed their position to the chase van so they could pick them up and return them to their awaiting car.

Back at the barn, Roger handed a flash drive with all the pictures on it to Blaine and congratulated the boys. They climbed into the Town Car and nestled into each other's arms in the back seat. Kurt yawned and put his head on Blaine's shoulder.

"Rest now, sweetie, because the night is not over. Now we have to tell our parents and our friends!"

The adrenaline from the balloon ride was starting to wear off and he was feeling a little drowsy, but he was still so excited about the prospect of telling all his friends that Blaine was now his fiancé! He settled in for a quick nap to recharge his batteries.

The car pulled up in front of Blaine's apartment and the driver opened the door for the boys. They ascended the front steps and walked through the door into the apartment that was FILLED with candles!

"Surprise! We're actually meeting all of our friends for lunch tomorrow afternoon before Sam and Heidi leave for Kentucky. I did not want to spend our engagement night with our friends. We can tell everyone in the morning. Is that okay with you?"

Kurt launched himself at Blaine and kissed him fiercely.

"I'mmmm gonna, mfff, take, mmmf, that, mmmff, as a, mmmmf, yes," Blaine got out in between kisses.

Kurt came up for air for a moment. He stood in the middle of the living room and spun around slowly. He clapped his hands together excitedly and said, "I love it Blaine, all the candles! Like Phantom of the Opera all over again!"

"Yes, sweetie, our very own Phantom set."

"This whole night has been perfect. Thank you so much. I love you!" Kurt pulled Blaine to him again and then stopped and looked around, confused. "Where are Nick and Jeff?"

Blaine laughed. "They are visiting Rachel for the night. Sam won't be home from Heidi's house until late and he promised to blow out all these candles before he went to bed. So you and I are alone for most of the night. Any ideas of what you want to…. OOF!" Kurt yanked Blaine into his bedroom before he could ever finish that sentence.

Kurt closed the door and locked it, and led Blaine to the bed. "Let me undress you," he whispered.

Blaine felt a shiver run up his spine. He loved it when Kurt took control as he was sometimes reserved during their lovemaking. He was looking forward to the taller man leading things between them that evening.

After slowly unbuttoning Blaine's shirt, he ran his hands down his arms until the shirt lay on the floor. He would never tire of looking at Blaine's chiseled chest and slightly round stomach. His eyes made their way down to the V shape that led into his pants, and he reached down between them to unbutton his khakis.

The hair on Blaine's arms stood on end from the sensation of Kurt's hands on his zipper, so very close to where he needed to be touched. He leaned in to kiss him and Kurt pulled back.

"Not yet. I want to finish undressing you." His hands returned to Blaine's waist and he tucked his thumbs into the waistband of his boxer briefs, and slowly pulled them down, making certain he brushed Blaine's already hard cock with the back of his hand.

Once all of his clothes had been removed, Kurt took a step back to admire the view of his fiancé naked. His hazel eyes were heavily lidded with passion, his cheeks were slightly flushed, and he was fully erect, waiting patiently for Kurt to touch him. Kurt made him wait a little longer while he took his time and removed his own clothes, folding them neatly and placing them over the back of the chair by the dresser. He could hear Blaine's breath hitch every time he took off another piece of his own outfit.

Once both men were in the same state of undress, Kurt crossed the room and took Blaine in his arms. He kissed him tenderly, wanting to savor this moment, their first time making love as fiancés. He desperately loved this man and wanted to show him his gratitude for an incredible night together.

Moving to kiss his way to Blaine's neck, he stopped and sucked at the spot near his pulse that drove him crazy. Right on cue, the shorter man let out a breathy moan as he ran his arms up Kurt's back, pulling him closer. The friction created from his embrace was intoxicating but he wasn't going to last long if he let Blaine continue to roll his hips into him.

Breaking away from him, Kurt put his hands on Blaine's shoulders and gently pushed him onto the bed and climbed on top of him. Their mouths met again and Blaine parted his lips to allow Kurt to deepen the kiss. They had been together, intimately, for over two years now, but this time it felt different, like they were starting something new. His head swam with thoughts of spending the rest of his life getting to pleasure Blaine and he had to break the kiss before he got too dizzy. Moving on to kiss Blaine's chest, he ran his tongue over one nipple and then captured it in his mouth, sucking hard.

Blaine responded by bucking his hips up rubbing against Kurt, causing a warm feeling to spread through him from the contact. As much as he wanted to take his time, he was finding it hard not to give in and just give in to his need from only Blaine grinding against him. He had a tenuous grip on his self-control and lifted himself up on his arms, so their bodies were no longer touching.

Kurt laughed and said, "If you don't stop that, I'm going to have to tie you down!" Then he lowered his voice and leaned in to whisper in Blaine's ear, "What do you want me to do to you?" He knew damn well what that lower octave did to Blaine.

"I need you, baby. Inside me. Make love to me, Kurt."

Those 5 words almost pushed him over the edge, so he rolled off of Blaine, and got the lube and condoms from the drawer. He wanted Blaine to beg him for it, so he began slowly running his fingertips lightly up Blaine's calf, to his thigh and then across his stomach. Continuing down the other thigh and calf and bringing his hand back up until he was almost to the base of his shaft, he continued his teasing strokes until he saw Blaine's cock twitch and pre-come form into droplets on the tip. God he was beautiful when he was wrecked like this, letting Kurt have his way.

Kurt looked up at his fiancé's beautiful tanned body sprawled out on the bed, his head thrown to the side, loving every touch Kurt gave, trusting him completely. His heart swelled with love and amazement that this incredible man asked him to marry him just a few shorts hours ago. It all seemed so surreal at that moment. Deciding not to let him suffer any longer, he brought his hands up to the base of his shaft and gently lowered his mouth onto the length of him.

"Mmmmmmm." Blaine moaned and moved his hips slightly, being careful not to thrust up into Kurt's mouth too hard. As Kurt wrapped his left hand around the base of his shaft, Blaine felt the ring. His brain stopped processing everything and the only thing he could focus on was the warm metal gliding along the length of him.

His heart swelled at the thought of feeling that ring for the rest of his life. It was a simple metal band, but the promise behind it held so much more. Kurt was his and he was Kurt's- forever. Before the tears started to form in his eyes, he refocused on the intoxicating feeling of his fiancé's mouth on him.

Blaine knew better then to touch Kurt's hair, the man spent a good half hour a day making sure he had the perfect coif, but he couldn't help himself, and ran his fingers through the light brown locks, encouraging him to take him deeper. Kurt sank down as far as he could on Blaine's large cock, taking him deep into his throat and humming. He kept very still so as not to hurt Kurt, while the feeling from being so far inside Kurt's mouth brought him dangerously close to the edge.

"You feel incredible, baby, but I need you. You have me so close," Blaine pleaded.

Letting his mouth leave Blaine momentarily, he opened the lube and slicked up his fingers. His mouth returned to Blaine's thigh and he planted several quick kisses there, pausing to suck on certain spots until a mark remained. He wanted Blaine to remember this night and think of him every time he looked down at the small marks over the next few days. Moving up, he took Blaine's balls into his mouth, running his tongue along his sac and up over the center. Blaine moaned again and muttered something profane from his lips. With his mouth still on Blaine's most sensitive area, he slowly slipped a finger inside of him, working him open.

Blaine was full on panting by now and not sure what sensation deserved more of his attention, the feeling of Kurt's mouth and tongue, or his finger, slowly curling inside him, sliding in and out of him, readying him.. Kurt lifted his head up, briefly removed his fingers from Blaine, moved up Blaine's body until he was laying on his side next to him, and he kissed him senseless. Slipping his fingers back inside of him, Blaine reveled at the way Kurt made his body come alive. He already knew Blaine's body so well and knew exactly where and how to touch him to drive him mad. Blaine sighed as he thought about how they had a whole lifetime now to continue to perfect it.

Kurt curved his fingers up and in and heard a gasp from Blaine and knew he had found his prostate. He ran his fingers back and forth over it, Blaine's hips bucking in time to his movements.

"Kurt, god I need you. Please. I'm right there and I want you- to feel you. All of you. MMMMMmmmmm."

Kurt was close, and was hoping he'd get the condom rolled on without coming from that motion alone. He applied a liberal amount of lube to himself and Blaine, and propped himself up on his arms, hovering over Blaine. He leaned down and kissed him hard. "Look at me, Blaine. Open your eyes. I want to see you."

Blaine opened his eyes and stared into Kurt's blue ones as Kurt entered him, moving slowly at first and giving Blaine a chance to adjust to him. Kurt was well endowed and Blaine loved how filled up he felt when he was inside of him. He rocked his hips up, letting Kurt know that his body had adjusted and could start to move again. Blaine reached up and ran his hands down Kurt's back and brought him down so he could kiss him while they were joined. He thought there was no feeling in the world like being completely at one with your lover, your partner in life, and now fiancé.

Kurt lay on top of Blaine, his hands in Blaine's hair, their mouths locked in a passionate kiss, while trying to convey all of the emotions and feelings from the day to this gorgeous man beneath him. He never felt so close to him before. They were moving together, completely in sync, down to their rapid heartbeats. Both of them were sweating; a drop rolled off his nose and onto Blaine's, and Kurt quickly wiped it away, his lips returning to Blaine's mouth.

Feeling that his body was on the brink of climax, Kurt sped up his pace as he reached down between them and stroked Blaine, wanted them both to hit their peak together.

"Oh yes, Kurt, so close," Blaine panted out and rocked his hips up to match Kurt's rhythm, his fingers slick and gliding over him, edging him closer.

A few thrusts later and Blaine was there, Kurt following him with his own release. He collapsed on top of Blaine, still inside him and kissed him sweetly. "I love you so much."

"I love you too. You are amazing!" They lay wrapped in each other's arms, while they both reflected on the events of the day. Blaine's breathing finally returning to normal, and his heartbeat slowing, he leaned over and kissed Kurt's forehead.

After a few more minutes had passed, he looked down at their sweaty bodies and chuckled, "We are a mess! Shower?"

"Lead the way!" Kurt said as he rolled off of Blaine and the two made their way to the shower to clean up and maybe get a little dirty again.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

As they lay in bed that night, sated and exhausted after hours of lovemaking, Kurt reflected on the events of the day. The proposal had been perfect. He had honestly expected a long-winded monologue outlining the highlights of their relationship. Blaine was known for his flowery romantic gestures, which was probably due in part to his background in acting and Kurt loved it and expected it Instead, he got a simply beautiful proposal that took his breath away, leaving him completely surprised by Blaine once again. He had the feeling that Blaine would keep him guessing for the rest of his life and that's exactly what he needed.

Blaine's head rested on Kurt's chest so he could hear his steady heartbeat, their limbs entwined together and Blaine thought in that moment that this was his favorite place in all the world. There was nowhere he felt safer or more loved than being wrapped in Kurt's arms, his slow breathing and steady heartbeat a calming influence on him. He was so thrilled that Kurt agreed to be his husband and that he was able to actually keep the proposal and the hot air balloon ride a secret. Now all that was left to do was to plan the wedding and spend the rest of their lives loving each other. He drifted off to sleep, the happiest man in the world.

The next morning, before they could even get out of bed and start their day, they heard a commotion outside their bedroom door and then a very insistent knocking before the door flew wide open.

Jeff entered with his one hand over his eyes and his other hand over Nick's eyes. "We're sorry if you aren't decent but we wanted to bring you breakfast in bed! Congratulations guys!"

Nick was blindly walking forward with the tray in his hand, headed toward the bed. "Are you dressed? Because Jeff has a death grip on my face and I really can't see where I'm going. This hot coffee could land in a delicate spot."

"We're covered," giggled Kurt.

"Phew!" Jeff said as he released Nick and dropped his hand from his own face.

"You might want to leave that and go though, because we might be covered, but we are not decent under this blanket," Blaine stated as he smirked and winked at Kurt.

Nick set the tray down at the foot of the bed. "OOOOOK. Leaving now. Enjoy and we'll meet you out in the living room once you are dressed. No rush on our account. Take your time. Enjoy your breakfast. And each other…" Nick winced as Jeff slapped him on the arm. "What?"

"You know what," he said as he ushered Nick out the door. They shut the door behind them.

Kurt reached down and picked up the tray, sliding it further up the bed. "So I am supposing you told them already?"

"Who do you think helped me pull this whole thing off? I couldn't very well make the arrangements around you and we are pretty much always together. If I had any reception in the dang subway, I could have called then, but nooo. So I had to enlist their help. I hope you don't mind."

Kurt smiled as he picked up his coffee, then brought it to his lips, blowing slightly to cool it, "How could I mind when the end result was so amazing?"

"Oh, and Sam knows too. He was here when we were going over the plan." Blaine wrinkled his brow and scrunched his nose.

"Does Rachel know?"

"Probably," Blaine said, "but she'll pretend not to. Hey, we get to tell our parents. I probably should've asked your dad for your hand, but I was afraid of too many people knowing and you finding out. So I'll apologize to him for that."

"You're probably right, but I'm sure if you explain to him he'll understand. I am good at guessing these things. It's very hard to surprise me, but you managed it, Blaine. I was truly surprised!" Kurt surveyed the tray of goodies the boys had put together for them, "OOOH mini pastries!" He quickly grabbed the chocolate one and popped it into his mouth.

Blaine just laughed at his fiancé and his penchant for mini things- cupcakes, pastries, dogs, everything except the most important thing…. He adored all these little things about him: how he always tested the temperature of his coffee before he sipped it even after the first few minutes when it would have obviously cooled; his insane nighttime moisturizing ritual that left his skin looking flawless; and how he hummed out loud while listening to his iPod through the headphones even though he swore he wasn't making a sound.

For as long as they had been together, Blaine was willing to bet that he'd learn at least a hundred more new things about him, and he couldn't wait. As for breakfast, Blaine chose the yogurt and let Kurt have the other mini pastry. Nick and Jeff were too kind and he was grateful to have such amazing friends in which to share this moment. Although, it would have to just be breakfast this morning because he was pretty sure those two perverts were camped right outside his door, waiting for them to get it on.

He looked at Kurt and wiggled his cute, triangle shaped eyebrows. "You know they are right outside the door still, right?" he whispered.

Kurt nodded, knowing exactly what Blaine was thinking. They finished eating, drank their coffee, and got dressed. They didn't have class today because both of their professors were traveling to a conference, so they had the whole day free.

The two men walked quietly toward the door and started making erotic sounds. As they had suspected, they heard quiet giggling coming from other side of the door.

Blaine took the lead, "Oooh Kurt, yeah, right there," he said louder than he would normally speak.

"Yeah baby, you like that, huh?" Kurt replied as Blaine moved closer to the door, wrapping his hand around the knob and twisting it ever so slowly.

Kurt let out a long moan, and the giggling stopped. Blaine whipped the door open and the two eavesdroppers fell right into the bedroom, face first onto the hardwood floor.

"OW!" yelled Nick as he rubbed his elbow.

Blaine and Kurt stood over the two, looking down at them, a crumpled mass of limbs on the floor and said, "We knew it!"

"Come on guys, we made you that great breakfast, the least you could do was let us stick around for the show," Nick whined.

Kurt teased them, "You're incorrigible! Blaine, where'd you find these two anyway?" then he winked and offered a hand to help Jeff to his feet. Blaine just shook his head in mock disgust and walked over Nick's body and out of the room, leaving Nick to his own devices.

Sam was in the kitchen throwing a quick egg wrap together for breakfast as Blaine walked in. He moved closer to Blaine and in a not so whispered tone asked, "Hey man, so how'd it go? Did you ask him? Did he say yes?" then looking behind Blaine for the man in question and not seeing him he added, "Did he say no and you tossed him overboard?"

"God, no, Sam! He's in the living room keeping an eye on Nick and Jeff." Sometimes he wondered about Sam. "I did ask, he did say yes! We're officially engaged!"

Sam grabbed Blaine by the shoulders and danced around in a circle with him, "Yay gay marriage! So exciting! Equal rights! Dude love!"

After the spinning and yelling of odd phrases came to an end, Blaine righted himself, straightened his shirt and smiled at Sam. "So, that being said, I have a question for you now…"

Sam interrupted, "Dude, that's not right! First, I'm not gay and secondly, I'm pretty sure you can't be engaged to two people at once and third, Heidi would have a fit if I dumped her for you. No offense man, but my answer is no!"

Laughing at his goofy friend and his typical antics, Blaine asked sarcastically, "So you won't be my best man then?"

"OOOHHHH! Yeah, man, I'm totally down for that. Planning the bachelor party at the strip club… Wait! How does that even work? Do we have to go to a male strip club even though most of your friends are straight men or do we have to hire a guy and a girl?" Sam hadn't even taken a breath between any of those questions.

"We can figure all that out later, Sam. You have a flight to catch! Now get moving!" Blaine slapped him playfully on his butt as he shooed him from the room.

Blaine joined his friends in the living room and Kurt gave him a questioning look as he sat next to him.

"Everything okay in there?"

"Yes. I asked Sam to be my best man."

"He sounded uncertain."

"Well…. he thought I was proposing to him too," Blaine explained.

Kurt just shook his head and laughed. The boy was kind and a great friend to Blaine, but he was a bit naïve at times. "Well, I'm glad you straightened that out."

Sam managed to make it to the airport in time for his flight and the boys spent the day at Bryant Park, helping Nick and Jeff tape footage for their web series. It was really funny to see how unflappable most New Yorkers were. They would have one friend act crazy and do things out of character in front of another one of their friends. The longer they acted ridiculous, the more points they would get. Well, it was surprising how long the one acting nuts was allowed to go on before the other person finally said something. Not to mention the fact that most of the people passing by paid them no mind. In the end, once the video was edited, they would be pitted against another pair they had taped that day and the pair with the most points at the end of the allotted time won. The participants played for "pride, not prize" and were happy enough to see themselves featured on You Tube.

If the guys impressed their investor after this trip and got further funding, they could potentially start giving away actual prizes and then eventually get picked up by a network as an actual TV show. Blaine was so happy seeing the guys doing something that they loved and were passionate about. He was so glad that they could be here to help him and to celebrate his engagement.

Tomorrow they were headed to Times Square, and maybe a quick stop by the Gershwin Theater. Jeff was obsessed with the musical Wicked and wanted to see if they could get a tour or sneak in the theater. If they had the time and could score cheap tickets, Nick was thinking about taking him the see the play. Mostly though, they were banking on Times Square being a great place to find interesting people.

After they convinced a few more people to prank their friends and got some bonus footage of a man doing yoga in the fountain, they packed up and headed back to Blaine's place to get ready to go out for the night.

"No way! That's great guys! Congrats!" Rachel was beaming as she grabbed both Blaine and Kurt into a big hug.

They were at their usual spot, The Flame, Santana behind the bar, and Nick and Jeff dancing to "Come on Eileen" on the jukebox. Sam had landed safely in Kentucky; he had texted Blaine when his plane landed.

Kurt and Blaine had called their parents before they went out and both families were thrilled with the news. So now they could just relax and enjoy the time with their friends.

"When's the big date? Because you know I need time to buy a dress. Kleinfeld's sale is not until the fall..." she was still rambling but Blaine could no longer hear her. He was too focused on his beautiful fiancé and how he was slowly running his hand up and down his glass, ridding it of all the condensation. He grabbed Kurt, even though Rachel appeared to still be talking to him, and yanked him towards the dance floor.

"What the heck, Blaine?" Kurt questioned as he was led to the dance floor, Blaine's arm going around his waist.

"Need you in my arms, dancing. Now."

"Ok, ok...Oh, this change in direction definitely has its merits," Kurt managed to get out as a dance song came on and he was pulled tightly to Blaine, his left leg nestled in between the other man's legs. The two swayed in time to the rhythm of the song, forgetting there was anyone else in the bar. Kurt felt hot everywhere his skin made contact with Blaine's body and he was having trouble keeping his composure. They couldn't keep leaving the bar abruptly or they'd never be invited out again. He backed away slowly and put some distance between them as they danced. Thankfully, the song ended shortly afterwards and the jukebox ran out of song selections to play. Sighing gratefully, Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand and led him back to the bar to join the others, who had been staring at them while they danced.

"Has anyone ever told you two how perfect you are together? Geeze, I need a cold shower after watching you," Nick snorted as he took a swig of his beer.

The TV behind the bar was on and set to the news, and Kurt caught an image on it out of the corner of his eye. The spacecraft they had seen launch the night of the balloon ride was nearing its target. Tomorrow night they would make contact and push the asteroid out of its path and onto a different trajectory. Even though Kurt wanted to trust NASA and all of the rocket scientists, he still had a terrible feeling forming again in the pit of his stomach.

What if this didn't work? Why wasn't anyone else panicking? He was sure there would be mass panic by now. Should he start stocking up on gallons of water? Isn't that what you did in an emergency? They had a bad hurricane the summer before that had left most of the shore and a good part of Lower Manhattan crippled. Even though they had several days warning by the news to get to higher ground or a safe shelter, the people of New York assumed they were untouchable or something and failed to heed the warnings. The subways flooded, people were stranded in the top floors of their buildings because the lower floors were flooded, and the winds had torn apart a lot of the electronic infrastructure such as cell towers, antennas and satellite dishes. They were still repairing the subways over a year later.

He was so thankful that the part of Brooklyn they lived in was far enough above sea level and inland that they really hadn't been affected except for an extended power outage. It was hard enough to get around in Manhattan on a good day; he didn't want to find out how difficult it would be under a state of emergency.

Blaine touched his arm, bringing him out of his line of thinking and back into the present. He just smiled and took a sip of his drink, as he gazed into Blaine's hazel eyes. The lights in the bar made the green flecks stand out more predominately tonight and they appeared to sparkle brighter than usual. He made a mental note to buy Blaine a green tie for the wedding. Forcing himself not to ruin the evening with thoughts of impending doom, he leaned over and kissed Blaine quickly on the lips.

"Love you!" he whispered into Blaine's ear.

"Love you too," Blaine replied.

"Love you more!" Jeff shouted. Nothing was sacred around their friends.

Nick bought another round for everyone before last call, and proposed a toast to his friends. "To Blaine and Kurt, may their love continue to be something that we all strive to find. Congratulations on the engagement and we can't wait to party at your wedding! Cheers!"

Everyone clinked glasses and hugged the boys. Kurt looked at Blaine again and couldn't remember a time in his life when he had been happier than he was in that moment.

Sam was glad they had finally made it to Kentucky and had checked into their hotel. The flight had been delayed, and they had to sit on the runway for hours waiting to take off. Late April in Kentucky was warm and muggy as Sam and Heidi walked out of the hotel to meet their contact in Louisville. They were meeting at a giant underground cave below Louisville. It was a 50-mile deep cave that sprawled under most of the city. Apparently, that was the best place for six feet tall people to model jockey outfits. He would never understand this particular assignment.

He grasped Heidi's hand as they entered the car that was sent for them. She was not as skeptical about the whole thing, stating that they were getting paid so what did it matter how ridiculous the whole thing was. They made their way up the highway towards Louisville, passing the Louisville Slugger plant that had a giant baseball bat outside. In the distance, he could see the signs for the cave. Apparently, it was so big they had a zipline tour you could take in the cave.

They were greeted by their guide as they got out of the car at the mouth of the cave. He ushered the pair into a special "Mine Cart" so they could venture further into the cave. Regular vehicles weren't allowed inside due to the mold and fungus they could introduce. Sam decided to make the best of this and climbed into the cart, helping Heidi up beside him.

Heidi was a beautiful girl- tall, blonde and just a bit curvy. Sam had met her on a modeling shoot and loved her zest for life and willingness to do anything. She was fearless. They had been cliff diving together in Hawaii, ziplining in Costa Rica and cave diving in the Mexican "cenotes" or underground caves. Their modeling jobs had taken them to some pretty exciting locations. He was thinking this cave in Kentucky would not prove to be one of them.

As they drove further into the cave, their guide explained that these caves were old mines that had been converted to a giant fallout shelter during the cold war in the 1980's. However now, since the temperature in the cave was constant, they could store food and goods there safely for extended periods of time. As they passed by the rooms, Sam's stomach growled as he saw boxes labeled- Omaha Steak.

"Are you always hungry?" Heidi laughed.

"I'm a starving model, what do you think?" he laughed.

They pulled into an area further back in the cave and saw the lights, backdrops and horses. Great. Horses. This didn't seem like an accident waiting to happen. Sam just hoped they didn't make him get on the horses. He'd really never sell these clothes if the ads showed his long body on top of a horse. Making up his mind to be more positive and enjoy this, he jumped off the cart, helped Heidi down, and went to get fitted for his jockey outfit.

Kurt loved his job at Rogue but he had never looked forward to going in to work like he was today. They all knew something was up when he was whisked away in a limo two days before, but no one really knew what had taken place. As he walked in the building and up the stairs to his office, Isabelle spotted him over the railing, and yelled to him.

"Oh, Kurt! You're back! We've been dying to know where you went the other day! And dying to know the identity of that striking man with the awaiting limo!" She flitted down the steps to meet Kurt as he ascended, put her hand on his shoulder and guided him up and into her office.

"Thank you again for letting me have the day off…"

"Yes, yes, no problem, now spill it! I want all the details," she interrupted as she waved her hands in the air, motioning him to sit.

"Well, the striking man was Blaine, my fiancé."

"Fiancé?! Oh Kurt! He asked you to marry him?" She was bouncing in her seat.

"He did and I said yes."

"Oh tell me everything! I am moving my meeting back a half hour." She flew from her seat and glided to the door, poking her head out and bellowing, "Cheryl- Move my meeting back a half hour!"

Returning to her seat next to Kurt, she took his hands in hers and said. "You have my undivided attention!"

Kurt laughed. Isabelle was quite the character. He settled back in his seat and started his story from the beginning, not leaving out any details.

Blaine was so proud of his piano student for his effort and concentration during their lesson that day. He only wished he could say the same about his own concentration. The last two days had flown by in a blur and Blaine's head was still in the clouds. He shook his head and focused on the notes coming from the piano next to him.

"Very good. You've really been practicing!" He nodded to the boy's mother, sitting nearby watching. She was as much to credit for the young man's progress. "Well, I'd like you to practice that piece this week and start looking over this piece and I'll see you next week."

"Thanks Mr. Blaine!" he said, grabbing his mother's hand and leaving the studio, "See you next week!"

Blaine smiled and waved as they left. He really enjoyed seeing the progress that his students made from week to week. Teaching others to play music gave him such a sense of well-being. It was the perfect after school job for him.

Blaine locked up the studio and exited through the music store, and out onto the sidewalk. It was gorgeous out that night- mid 60's, a light breeze and not a cloud in the sky. As he walked down the street, he passed the park by his apartment. As was normal for New York, there was a man with a sign that said, "Repent or Burn in the deBts of Hell". Blaine laughed at the misspelling and was pretty sure the man meant "depths." The guy saw Blaine smirk and started bellowing at him.

"Repent sinner! You think this is funny? God will find you and he will judge you! You will be smited for laughing at one of his messengers!" The guy yelled after him as he passed.

Thankfully, the park was pretty populated with people, so Blaine wasn't alone with this guy. He continued past him to the direction of his apartment, not at all worried about being smited. As he reached the edge of the park, he heard a loud hiss and then a crash. Turning around, he saw that the tree right behind him was on fire.

He shrieked a little and backed up from the flaming tree. What the hell? That had to be a coincidence and not an actual act of God. The burning tree had gotten the attention of pretty much everyone in the park now, as well as the man with the sign.

"GOD IS ANGRY! HE HAS SENT A SIGN! REPENT, SINNERS!" The guy was in full on crazy mode now, yelling in the faces of those people that had stopped to look at the tree. Several people were on their cell phones, he assumed they were calling the fire department, so he didn't bother to call it in as well. He needed to get home before things got out of hand here.

Waiting for the signal to turn green so he could cross the street, Blaine looked upward to see if he could see what had caused the tree to catch fire. Sometimes lightning could strike even if there didn't appear to be any clouds in the sky. As his head was skyward, he saw a bright light out of the corner of his eye. It was getting bigger, its light reflecting off the window of the nearby building. It looked like a shooting star, but much larger and brighter since it was visible before the sun went down.

It was now approaching faster and faster, as the light turned green, and Blaine was carried across the street by the mob of people fleeing the melee in the park. Safely on the other side of the street, he looked up again just in time to see the flaming object take out a satellite dish on the top of a nearby skyscraper. What was going on?

Before he got a chance to figure out what was happening, two more crashes sounded out near him. He saw an object hit the 30th floor window of the skyscraper next to him and crash right through it. Shortly after that, flames shot out of the now destroyed window. He spun around as he heard something hit right behind him only to see the brightly painted Spongebob mailbox on the corner get hit by a large glowing rock. It sliced right through the metal like butter, hitting the pavement and leaving a large divot. Poor Spongebob.

He reached for his phone in his pocket as he made his way quickly towards the door to his apartment. Not that he was used to dealing with emergency situations, but he knew that he needed to take cover and he needed to find Kurt. That was his only thought as he furiously dialed the phone. All he wanted to do was hear Kurt's voice and know that he was safe somewhere. Then they could figure out what was going on and come up with a plan to find each other. He threw the door to his apartment open, entered, and slammed it shut in hopes it would give him at least a little protection from the flaming debris outside.

After he dialed the number, the phone rang and rang and rang. Maybe he was in the subway. Please let him be in the subway. At least he stood a chance of being protected if he was underground. He kept trying, again and again, hanging up and redialing. After the 5th time he got no answer, he decided to leave a message.

"_Kurt, I don't know where you are. I am in our apartment. I had to take cover from what appears to be a bunch of small meteorites hitting the buildings around us. Call me as soon as you get this and I will come get you. Stay inside until you talk to me. I think that's the safest place right now. I love you Kurt. Please call me."_

Blaine was trying hard to stay calm, but his thoughts were racing a mile a minute. Wasn't this the day the spacecraft was supposed to push the asteroid out of orbit? Had it gone wrong? What was this? He needed to find Kurt as soon as possible. Even if it had nothing to do with the asteroid, he knew the man would be freaking out. He couldn't stand the thought of him scared and alone somewhere.

Then another even more frightening thought hit him- What if Kurt wasn't answering because he was hurt? Oh god! What time was it? It was past quitting time for his internship at Rogue. He would have been on his way home by now. It was very possible he was just in the subway under the East River, with no reception, but he couldn't chance it. He needed to do something.

He grabbed some water, snacks, a first aid kit and a change of clothes for both of them and shoved them all into a backpack. He took a flashlight and his pocketknife and thrust them into his jeans pocket. Who knows what he'd need, but he thought he should take something in case he wasn't able to get back to their place later. Putting his jacket on and packing Kurt's jacket into the backpack, he walked cautiously out the door and towards the subway station.

People were running everywhere trying to escape the fires and fearing more incoming missiles. Blaine just needed to get the 3 blocks over to the subway station. He pulled out his phone and redialed Kurt. A lot of ringing and no Kurt. God, where was he? He was so worried. He couldn't lose him 2 days into their engagement. It seemed far-fetched but he felt like he would know if Kurt was in pain or even worse, and that thought made him feel slightly less panicked. Kurt had always been a survivor, having come out an even stronger person after being bullied in high school. Blaine knew he could take care of himself, but he still needed to find him.

A lady bumped into him as she ran past him screaming for a "Nathan." Everyone seemed to be looking for their loved ones. I mean that's what you do when things like this happen. He dialed Kurt again and got a fast busy signal. Great! What did that mean? He suspected they wouldn't have cell service long with the towers being taken out left and right by whatever was falling from the sky.

The subway entrance that Kurt would have been coming out of was just ahead of him. There wasn't a soul in sight as he descended the stairs and jumped the turnstiles to get to the boarding platform. Nothing. Dead quiet. No trains, no people, and thankfully no fire or destruction. This was the first stop in Brooklyn for the train, so Kurt was either on the train under the East River in a subway tunnel or he was stuck in Manhattan.

Blaine felt the panic rise in him, and leaned back against the wall to catch his breath. He needed to calm down and think straight so he could come up with a plan to find Kurt. He bent forward and put his hands on his knees, dragging in ragged breaths, trying to slow his breathing. He thought to himself, "Think, Blaine. How can you find him?"

**A/N- Thanks so much to Kelly for referring all of you to my story and for reading through it for me. I hope you guys are enjoying it. I am still trying to figure out how to work the website, so thanks for your patience. **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It had been a half hour and the subway train hadn't moved. They were somewhere in between their college and 2nd Ave. on the F train when the darn thing just stopped. Usually they announced that there was a delay or congestion or electrical issues but there was no explanation being provided. Kurt had beaten all the levels of Candy Crush on his phone and was starting to get bored. With no cell phone reception underground, his entertainment options were severely limited. He looked up and surveyed his fellow passengers. Among them was a guy in workout gear, a hipster with a guitar case on his back, a mom and her young child and a bunch of random people his age that looked like they had also just gotten done with work. One guy stood out though; he had dark sunglasses on, a tight mohawk and he reminded Kurt of Judge Dredd. That gave Kurt a chuckle.

Blaine would be worried about him by now because he was over a half hour late from getting home, and since he had no cell reception, he wouldn't be able to reach him if he called. He really wished he knew what was delaying them so long. He pulled up the picture album on his phone and flipped through pictures of suits he had saved. Yes, he and Blaine were going to be engaged for a while before they got married, but it was never too early to plan what they were going to wear.

There was a black suit that Kurt thought would look so good on Blaine. It was tapered at the waist, and would show off his amazing shape. He let his thoughts drift to their future lives together in an effort to pass the time. Every morning he would wake up in Blaine's arms, knowing that that was where he belonged. They'd work-out and have a healthy breakfast together, discuss the latest Broadway gossip and help each other get dressed after a long shower together. Yes, that line of thinking was very entertaining.

Of course, there would be times they'd have to compromise, too. For example, Blaine loved watching sports and Kurt liked reading fashion magazines. So they would sit together on the couch, spending time with each other while doing their own thing. Luckily, both he and Blaine were pretty neat, so that shouldn't be an issue. Soon, they'd have to think about getting their own place. Maybe a cute loft in the Village if they could afford it, or one of the trendy new apartments in Chelsea.

The train lurched forward and began to move. Kurt was thankful they were finally moving and he could get home soon. The conductor came over the speaker, finally, and said, "Due to unforeseen events, all passengers must exit the train at the next station, the 2nd Avenue station. I repeat- All passengers must exit at the 2nd Avenue station. There is no continuing service to Brooklyn at this time. Thank you."

"Ugh, seriously?" Kurt thought. His options for getting home were now limited to taking a taxi, walking over the Manhattan Bridge, or swimming across the East River. Crap. He might get home around midnight at this rate. At least he could call Blaine as soon as he got to street level to let him know why he was so late.

The train stopped and the passengers filed out, all with the same level of annoyance on their faces. As Kurt crossed through the turnstiles to exit, he could hear a noise that sounded like screaming. Not really odd for New York, but this part of the city should have been fairly quiet at that time of day, as it was made up of mostly bars and night clubs that wouldn't be open yet. He made his way up the several flights of stairs out of the subway to the sidewalk, thinking only of calling Blaine and not taking notice of what was going on around him. His phone still showed no service even once he got to the surface, which was weird.

The noise level rose, a siren blared, and a fire truck drove right past him, causing Kurt to finally look up and see what was going on around him. There, not 30 feet from him across the street was a building that was on fire, and the fire truck had driven right past it! People were running down the sidewalk, cell phones out, trying to get out of each other's way. Kurt couldn't begin to imagine what was going on that would make everyone randomly run. Surely not the fire, because they were at a safe distance.

Annoyed, and assuming he wouldn't be able to hail a taxi in this kind of chaos, he made his way south towards the Manhattan Bridge. If he couldn't find a taxi, he'd just walk home. The sky was starting to get darker now and Kurt could see the stars starting to shine. One of them was really bright and appeared to be twinkling. No, he took that back, it appeared to be moving, and quite rapidly. He guessed it was a shooting star and kept walking until he heard an explosion behind him.

Ducking his head and spinning around, he saw that the back half of a parked car had been blown to bits, about 100 feet from him. Okay, what the heck was going on? He looked up to see the shooting star was now falling from the sky and had landed on top of a nearby skyscraper, incinerating the roof instantly. Jesus! This is probably why people were running. What was going on? He looked down at his phone again to see that he still had no service. Blaine! Where was Blaine? He had his piano lessons in Brooklyn today, so hopefully he was safe at home. Kurt needed to get to him before Blaine decided to venture out and look for him.

Knowing that it was always best to remain calm in these sorts of situations, Kurt walked quickly in the direction of the Manhattan Bridge. He had to get home to Blaine and make sure he was okay. Another crash and a piece of building landed 20 feet in front of Kurt, causing him to scream and throw his hands in the air.

"Oh my god!" Kurt shrieked as he backed up quickly. It was ridiculous and at this rate he would be lucky to make it home unscathed.

How do you deal with something when you have no idea what it is that's happening? He felt powerless without service on his phone, it was basically a paperweight at the moment. No one could call anyone as far as he could tell, but that happened during the attacks on 9/11 too. The cell towers were jammed from the activity.

Kurt had been too young to remember the events in 2001 but New York City had a natural disaster campaign. Between 9/11 and the Superstorm Sandy disaster the year before, the city had posters and signs up in the subways and at bus shelters, informing people of the measures to take in order to be prepared in the event of an emergency. The first thing on the poster said not to rely on your cell phone as it would most likely not work.

Turns out the stupid poster was right. He couldn't get the news on his phone, nor were there any emergency alerts like he got when there was severe weather. Shoving the useless device back in his pocket, he pressed forward, being sure to keep an eye skyward.

As he walked down the sidewalk, he noticed it was just mostly chaos. People were running around, not knowing what to do or what was happening. There was a kid crying hysterically, being dragged along by his mother. Kurt couldn't imagine the fear that both the kid and the mother felt, and he tried to smile at them as he passed. Aside from the people that had exited the train with him, this neighborhood wasn't too crowded. He was thankful that he didn't get stuck closer to Times Square, where there was certainly an abundance of scared, confused tourists.

Tourists! Oh no! Where were Nick and Jeff? Damn, what park were they going to today? Oh no! They were actually going to Times Square. They'd have no idea how to get to Blaine's apartment without the subway in service. Hopefully they found a safe place to stay or had a map and were making their way to Brooklyn. As much as he wanted to turn back and try to find them, there were just too many potential paths they could take and he'd likely pass right by them.

He had to focus on finding Blaine first and then they could find his friends. It gave him a sick feeling in his stomach once he made the conscious decision to keep heading towards Brooklyn and not towards Times Square. He felt like he was choosing Blaine over them and leaving them to fend for themselves. Those guys were their guests in an unfamiliar city. Once he found Blaine, finding them would be their first priority.

Now the air was filled with smoke from the fires and debris, and breathing was getting more difficult. Luckily Kurt had his Hermes scarf around his neck and pulled it up over his mouth and nose to filter some of the junk out of the air. Even though it was getting darker, he pulled his sunglasses on to offer some eye protection. Lower Manhattan felt more like a war zone than the city he had grown to love.

Blaine was frantic now, as he neared the Manhattan Bridge. Still unsure of what was going on, he coughed and choked on the thickness of the air around him. The sky seemed to stop spitting out fiery debris, but now cars, buildings and tress all around him were destroyed and on fire. He needed to regroup before he inhaled too much soot and couldn't go on. He needed water. Looking around, he saw a water pipe broken halfway down an alley. If he could wet his t-shirt, he could use that to breathe through.

He ran down the alley, dodging debris and old bags of trash from the local businesses. He reached the leaking pipe and whipped his shirt off over his head. He doused the front of it and put it back on, pulling the collar up over his face. As he turned around to head back to the street, a giant piece of a former building came tumbling down and blocked the exit to the alley.

"Shit!" he yelled. He surveyed the giant chunk of building lying between him and getting to Kurt. It may have been possible to climb over it without getting too scratched up. As he looked up, though, there were other chunks of the building threatening to fall as well. He'd be protected if he were under it when it fell. Maybe. There was no way, even with his athletic build, that he could squeeze under the pile, plus with his luck, the whole thing would collapse as he was crawling through.

Over-it was, because all that was behind him was a very large building with no doors and windows that were too high up to hoist himself through. The fire escape was on the other side of the rubble from him. Blaine took a deep breath and grabbed a hold of the first thing he could find that looked sturdy. He thought it looked like a windowsill. About halfway up he thought this might actually work, and once on top he felt nearly victorious. He looked down to survey the easiest path to take to climb down. As he lowered himself down the pile, he heard it, a shifting, and then the pile collapsed, causing him to fall to the ground.

That was not supposed to happen that way! Blaine looked down and all that appeared to be wrong with him were a few cuts and scrapes. He'd clean them up later when he got a chance. He pulled his phone out again in the off-chance that it had service. It didn't, and his heart sank as he looked at the background image of him and Kurt, arms wrapped around each other, smiling. Kurt. He hoped to god he was okay and that'd he be able to find him soon.

The chaos was nearly unbearable and made Blaine's head spin. There was a food truck on fire, with a segment of hot metal sticking out of the top of it. As he was passing it, he saw a hand come up over the edge of the counter. Someone was still inside. Adrenaline took the place of common sense and Blaine raced over to the truck.

"Anyone in there?" he yelled. No answer. The hand he saw was probably suffering from burns or smoke inhalation. Height was not on his side, as he reached up and pulled himself over the counter of the burning truck. Sure enough, the occupant was lying face down on the ground. It was a man his age and Blaine could see his chest rising and falling, so he was still alive.

He reached down and tapped the guy on the shoulder, "You okay?" All of his first aid training was starting to come back to him.

The guy stirred and started to push himself over to face Blaine. "MMMmph. Help," was all he got.

"Okay, are you in pain? Does anything feel broken?"

He shook his head "No," so Blaine tried to hoist him up so they could get out of the truck. He kicked open the back door and waited until the burning metal stopped raining down. Then, before he tried to exit, he wet a nearby towel and put it over both of their heads to protect from any stray hot metal they should encounter on the way out. He managed to drag both himself and the food truck driver over against the nearby building and sat him down, leaning against the wall.

"You okay?" Blaine asked.

The guy just nodded.

He knew he should probably call 911 and get the guy to a hospital but he had no phone service. There were no cabs to be seen and the only emergency vehicles were in the distance. It wasn't really a good idea to move him either, not with the smoke he had probably inhaled. He had to do something for him. Looking back at the burning truck, he saw that there were bottles of water on the counter, so he ran back and grabbed a few, and handed one to the guy. He was able to get the cap off and the water to his mouth. After a few gulps, the color had returned to the guy's face.

"Thanks," he said. "I'll be okay."

He must have sensed Blaine's hesitancy to leave him and Blaine hoped that was his way of giving him permission to leave. He put two of the water bottles in his backpack, draped the wet towel over the guy's head, and shook his hand goodbye.

"Be safe. I'm sorry. I have to leave. My fiancé is missing," Blaine said as the guy nodded his head in understanding.

Darn, the bridge was a lot further away than Kurt thought. It didn't help that he was fighting his way through running, confused, scared people on the sidewalks. The roads were jammed, presumably with everyone trying to get off the island of Manhattan. He had survived the falling debris and small fires here and there but had almost been taken out from behind by a lady with a jogging stroller and a screaming baby. He had heard her coming, but didn't have a moment to move out of the way before she knocked him right over. "I didn't need my ankles for walking or anything!" he yelled after her. That'd be some way to go. Death by stroller.

Ahead at the intersection, there was a large group of people all looking up. He approached them, stopped, and looked up to see what they saw. There, in the quickly darkening sky, was a giant ball of smoke and fire. Kurt saw the trails of debris coming off from the main mass and spreading out across the sky. He guessed that was where all these meteorites were originating from. The trails of smoke were billowing further out and the pieces were getting brighter as they fell to earth and started to burn in the atmosphere.

That was Kurt's queue to pick up the pace, so he could find Blaine and some shelter before the next wave of debris hit them. It was hard crossing the street. The traffic was now gridlocked with everyone trying to get towards the bridges and tunnels. He had to squeeze in between vehicles that were stopped in the crosswalk. His scarf was drying off and he'd need to wet it again soon to keep the dust at bay. Even though he had sunglasses on, the ash and soot were caking at the corner of his eyes making them burn something fierce. It made it even more difficult to navigate the crowded sidewalks when his eyes were watering and stinging.

Kurt knew that Blaine would no longer be waiting at home at that point. After that much time had passed without hearing from Kurt, Blaine was most likely on his way out to find him. Blaine knew he'd be upset after how he'd been acting the past few weeks and wouldn't want him to be alone in the city. He sent up a silent prayer that they wouldn't somehow miss each other. They had once missed each other while trying to meet outside of Madison Square Garden. Blaine had traveled on the street level and Kurt took the underground route to avoid the rain. They had passed right by each other in just a one block span. He had scolded Blaine, asking why on earth the man would walk outside when it was raining when there was a perfectly good subway station underground to walk through. He thought it was obvious that they'd meet at 7th Ave and 33rd Street in Penn Station, not on the sidewalk. Did he expect Kurt's hair to hold up in such weather?

Kurt promised himself that if he made it to Brooklyn, he'd stay put in the apartment until Blaine found him. He really hoped it didn't come to that though, because he wasn't known for his patience, especially in a crisis. He couldn't bear the thought of sitting in their apartment worrying about Blaine's whereabouts.

The crowd of people on the sidewalk was now consistently going in the opposite direction Kurt was and he felt like a salmon swimming upstream. They were presumably making their way towards the bridges and tunnels leading out of Manhattan to the mainland of New Jersey. Only Kurt would have been dumb enough to have been headed into Brooklyn, an isolated island. Once he found Blaine, they'd eventually need to take several bridges to get to New Jersey and to a safe, non-island place to stay. He had so many people to find before he could even consider heading to safety though.

He trudged on, head down, barreling his way through the ever-growing crowds. There was screaming and the crowd started running towards him, knocking him around and moving him backwards as they went. Kurt looked up and saw the source of the screaming- more rubble tumbling down off a nearby building. There was no way he was going to get through the crowd like this, so he went in the same direction as them and turned off onto a side street when he could. Feeling very frustrated and defeated, he sat on the step of a nearby house to catch his breath and gain his bearings.

He took note of the mix of people that were walking past him. There were business men in suits, briefcases in hand, either trying to get home to their families or trying to get out of the city, children still wearing backpacks, being dragged along by their mothers or caregivers, people in jeans and t-shirts, and some really scared looking tourists with "I love NY" t-shirts. He wished he could help everyone, tell them that everything was going to be okay, and they'd make it through this, but he couldn't. He didn't know if they would and he really needed to focus on finding Blaine and then Nick and Jeff.

Just two hours ago he was joking around with Isabelle at Rogue about a leather ring that they weren't sure was meant for your finger. How is it that everything got so dire in such a short amount of time? If Blaine were here he'd tell Kurt to focus on what he needs to do next, and then he'd grab his hand and lead them in the direction they needed to go. Ever since he'd met Blaine, he'd been a compass for Kurt, guiding him along in life, helping him when he needed it. He felt lost without him.

He thought about earlier that morning, as they were getting their coffee, Blaine was holding Kurt's hand, running his thumb absent-mindedly over the top. They didn't need to say anything to each other; they just silently enjoyed being together. Blaine ordered for both of them, and as they walked out of the shop and parted ways for class, Kurt leaned in and gave Blaine a quick kiss. Blaine's face lit up like it usually did after Kurt kissed him, and he told Kurt to be safe, he loved him and that they'd see each other for dinner that night. Kurt was now determined to make that statement come true. It might have to be a late dinner consisting of granola bars and water, but he would be with Blaine for dinner tonight.

Stepping off the stoop and back onto the sidewalk, he almost got run over by a man dressed in nothing but a rainbow colored thong, piloting a motorized wheelchair. The sight was so out of place in the current crisis and it made him laugh right out loud.

"Watch it! Coming through!" the man yelled as he nearly ran over several other pedestrians.

Kurt just shook his head, gathered his wits and headed back in the direction of the bridge. As he rounded the next corner, he could see the entrance to the bridge and his heart sank. The pedestrian walkway was jam packed with throngs of people making their way out of Brooklyn and the street itself was full of cars and trucks, not moving, stuck in the gridlock. That was not going to be fun to try and cross, but he had no other choice, he needed to find Blaine.

Blaine was stuck in a massive, sweaty, scared throng of people trying to cross the Manhattan Bridge. He kept looking around to make sure he wasn't passing Kurt by accident. There were too many people, many had their faces covered, and it wasn't like he wouldn't recognize Kurt even if his face was covered, but it was hard to pick out each person individually. Also, he was hoping that Kurt crossed on the side closest to the Brooklyn Bridge, since there were walkways on both sides of the bridge. They loved the views of the Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan from the south side of the bridge and he was banking on the fact that Kurt remembered that and chose that side.

Blaine never realized that mass panic had a sound, but it did, and right now it was deafening. It was made up of the sound of cars honking as they were sitting still on the bridge, people yelling to loved ones they were afraid of getting separated from, and just random crying and screaming. He reached into his pocket and checked his cell phone for service again. No luck. He looked up and around to scan the crowd again and didn't see Kurt. The mob was moving slowly and they weren't getting very far. He was only about 50 feet onto the bridge in 20 minute's time.

Just when the crowd started to move again, and Blaine felt hopeful, another large meteorite hit the water next to the bridge and sprayed everyone with dirty East River water. The screaming increased and the mob surged forward, trying to move out of the way of each other. It was a complete nightmare. They were outside and Blaine started to feel claustrophobic from how many people were jammed onto the walkway.

Half the people were looking up now, necks craning to see if there were any more incoming meteorites. Blaine thought that they were all sitting ducks on this bridge. There was nowhere to go if something hit them directly. Looking back over his shoulder, he considered going back towards Brooklyn. As he was considering that, another object hit the water further up the bridge on the north side. From the screaming, he gathered that those people got an East River bath, too. His decision was made for him because he tried to turn around and the people wouldn't let him go back. There was no way to squeeze by them and head back towards Brooklyn.

The crowd stopped moving again and Blaine felt helpless. He knew Kurt was probably scared and alone somewhere, facing a crowd of panicked people that were only concerned about themselves and their families. Blaine just wanted to find him, wrap his arms around him, and hold him tight. Terrible things go through your head when you are in a situation like that. "What was the last thing I said to him?" he thought. God, what was it? Usually it was, "I love you." They weren't fighting or angry with each other, so he wasn't worried about that. He tried to remember what it was.

Kurt usually called Blaine after his class on his way to his internship. Blaine tried to recall where he was earlier when he got the call. Oh yeah, the coffee shop. His afternoon lecture had left him feeling a little sleepy, so he stopped off at the coffee shop in Brooklyn before his piano lessons. A feeling of dread washed over him as he thought back to their conversation. He had accidentally hung up on Kurt while trying to juggle the coffee, a biscotti, and the phone on the way out the door. When he called back, Kurt must have gotten another phone call because it went straight to voicemail. Blaine's last words to Kurt had been, "What a douchebag!"

They had been discussing a classmate of theirs that was determined to undermine Kurt by making him look stupid in class. Although the only one who looked stupid was the guy. Blaine had been trying to commiserate with Kurt when he made the "douchebag" remark. He hoped like hell that wouldn't be the last thing Kurt ever heard from him. Their last conversation would not be about some jerk from class.

Refocusing his attention to the crowd that was still not moving, he looked skyward in the fading light to see what looked like a giant star with pieces trailing off from it. That did not bode well. He had a feeling that those pieces were rapidly making their way towards Earth and more specifically, New York City. No sooner than the thought crossed his mind than another projectile hit the northern walkway on the bridge.

Holy crap! That had to have hit people. The bridge was too crowded for it not to have hit a large amount of people. The others around him must have had the same thought because Blaine was getting his earlier wish as the crowd now changed directions and everyone was headed off the bridge and back towards Brooklyn.

If he had thought people were pushy before, now he was actually afraid of falling and being trampled. Everyone was screaming, pushing, and some were sobbing hysterically. Yeah, he definitely needed to get the heck off the bridge. Behind him were more incoming meteors, one of them hitting the huge wires of the span. The entire bridge shook, causing everyone to wobble and sway. He fought hard to stay upright and not lose his balance so he wouldn't hit the ground. The bridge was coming down if any more meteors hit it. All of the people in the cars were now joining the masses that were on foot as they made their way in a panic off the bridge.

People were now in an all-out run headed off the bridge, yelling to the people that were still headed towards the bridge, letting them know it had been hit and to turn around. It was truly mass hysteria. The darkening sky lit up again and the bridge took another hit right on the deck towards the center, leaving a massive hole in the southern lanes. Blaine tried to imagine that the screaming was coming from people who were just scared and not from people who were on fire or falling off the bridge. He couldn't stomach that thought for more than a few seconds if he wanted to keep going and not stop and be sick.

Blaine could not entertain the thought that Kurt had been on the bridge when it got hit. He'd crumple in a ball and be paralyzed if he did. No, Kurt was safe somewhere. If he weren't, Blaine would know. He would know if his fiancé was hurt, so he knew in his heart that he was okay.

The air was filling up with smoke and soot again and it was too dark to wear sunglasses at that point, so he took out a water bottle and wet his face, cleaning the majority of the gray soot out of his eyes. It was sticking to his eyelashes and every time he would blink, it would make his eyes burn. He wasn't going to get anywhere like this if he couldn't see, so he stepped to the side of the sidewalk and dug a t-shirt out of his backpack. He used it to wipe his face and clean the bulk of the ash from his eyes.

Behind him, the bridge was now ablaze and people were still running off of it. He sank down to his knees and drew in a long breath. That was his main passage to Manhattan and now it was unpassable. The Brooklyn Bridge was right next to it and he was guessing that it had sustained similar damage. He felt cut off from the world, trapped on the island of Brooklyn, without any means of contacting or finding his fiancé.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Kurt was never going to make it across the bridge! He made sure he chose the south walkway, closest to the Brooklyn Bridge because that's the side that he and Blaine always chose when they walked together. The views were spectacular. Right now the view was blocked by 40,000 people and a buttload of soot. What was going on?

He elbowed his way against the masses of people headed towards the Manhattan side of the bridge. At one point he was fairly certain he was moving backwards from how the crowd was pushing against him. This was a losing proposition and he was getting more frustrated by the minute. He needed to get to Brooklyn and to Blaine.

Suddenly, he was wet and not sure why. He had ducked his head down under the hood of his sweatshirt and was using it to navigate through the crowd. When he looked up, he saw a giant flaming object hit the span on the far side of the bridge. There was screaming and crying and no chance he was going to be able to go in the opposite direction from the crowd. He was almost plowed over from the pedestrians rushing forward off the bridge to escape the fire.

Dammit! He was so close to being on the right side of the bridge. He turned around and headed back in the direction he had come from, just like everyone else. Now that the Manhattan Bridge was not an option, he needed to collect himself and come up with Plan B. Once he was off the walkway and back on the sidewalk, he headed south along the waterfront in the direction of the Brooklyn Bridge. Maybe that would be a better option. As he neared the dock, he looked up at the mess that was the Manhattan Bridge. There was a gaping hole in the deck and cars were falling into the East River. The cars that were still on the bridge were on fire and people were running everywhere.

The whole scene was surreal, like he was trapped in some bad disaster movie, because isn't that where they all took place- New York City? He closed his eyes and steeled his nerves. He needed to keep moving and figure this out. The sky continued to spew out pieces of flaming space shrapnel, which was landing in the river, on the bridge and crashing through nearby buildings. It was a war zone in lower Manhattan. Wondering if it were like this everywhere, or just this region, he took out his phone again to check for a signal. As he suspected, there was still no service, so he pocketed it and kept walking towards the Brooklyn Bridge.

As Kurt rounded the corner and the bridge came into view, he gasped! "Holy cow! I was not expecting that!" he said to himself.

The iconic towers of the Brooklyn Bridge were destroyed, the bricks tumbling down, and the American flag at the top of the east tower- on fire. He wanted to cry. He wanted to sit right down on the sidewalk and just bawl his eyes out. That bridge was his last hope. What if Blaine was trapped in Brooklyn? How was he going to get to him or get him out?

Maybe Blaine made it over one of the bridges before they were destroyed. Maybe he was headed to Times Square to get Nick and Jeff. If he wasn't, there was no way he could get to Manhattan now. Kurt wasn't sure how he'd get to Brooklyn at this point, and what if he found some way and it turned out Blaine had made it to Manhattan? Maybe Blaine headed towards Staten Island once he saw the bridges were out. There were too many possibilities and it was making his head hurt even more.

It was late enough that it was dark out except for the light from fires on the bridge and surrounding buildings in the area. The bright star in the sky still hung ominously overhead, threatening to rain down more terror on the city. He needed to get some shelter for the night and he knew that staying in the lower part of the city was not a good idea. All of the disaster preparedness posters warned against it. That was the area that was lowest in elevation and flooded first. He chuckled at the fact that he had read the whole poster. It was a long ride home from work some nights and it was either read that or stare into the tired faces of his fellow commuters.

Blaine had told him to stay safe and that he'd see him for dinner that night. It was weird to think that had just been that morning. Kurt had made them both breakfast, and they had sat at the table together, just enjoying being with each other. The quiet time together in the morning was his favorite. He just sat and noticed all the little things about Blaine- his eyes reflecting the light coming in through the window, the way his strong hands gripped his coffee mug as he sipped it, and the little smile that formed on his lips when he realized Kurt was looking at him. It made his heart melt. He couldn't believe he was lucky enough to have found Blaine, especially after all those years of believing he'd never find someone who would love him.

Before they headed out of the house, Blaine had slid Kurt's messenger bag strap up his arm, slipped an arm around his waist, and pulled Kurt to him for a mind blowing kiss. It was one of those kisses that started off sweet and innocent, but then Blaine had slowly raised his hand to Kurt's face, and then deepened the kiss until it had left Kurt breathless. Kurt had needed a minute to adjust himself so that he could walk out the door and into public.

Now, he didn't want to think that it may have been their last kiss ever. He would see Blaine again. He just needed a better plan. He thought back again to what Blaine had said, "Stay safe and I'll see you for dinner." He could start with staying safe and the best way to do that was to find some shelter.

Kurt decided at that point it was best that he head towards Time Square to see if he could find somewhere to stay. Last year during the hurricane, they had public shelters set up there. Even if they weren't up and running yet, he might be able to find food at one of the hundreds of restaurants in the 10 block area. Hopefully, Nick and Jeff stayed up there too and he'd be able to find them.

Feeling renewed now that he had a better plan, he hiked the strap of his messenger bag further up his shoulder, turned around and headed north. He needed to pick a street closer to the east side of the city since he was fairly certain everyone would be flocking west towards the bridges and tunnels and he couldn't handle trying to go the opposite direction from the rest of New York.

As he walked along, he spun the ring on his left ring finger. He wasn't used to wearing it and had gotten into the habit of fiddling with it when he was stressed. At that moment, it was having a calming effect on him, grounding him, and reminding him of Blaine. He allowed himself a moment to let his mind wander back to a few days ago. They had been silently floating along in a hot air balloon over a quiet serene valley when Blaine took his hand and slipped the ring on his finger. It had been so understated and perfect.

He hadn't known where they were going that night and he really didn't think that Blaine had been at the point where he was ready to propose, so when he heard Blaine whisper, "Marry me?" in his ear, he almost couldn't breathe. His brain had stopped functioning for a second. Thankfully, Kurt's voice had still worked and he was able to answer him. Of course he wanted to marry him. Even when they were broken up and living in different states, Kurt couldn't stop thinking about Blaine. Blaine was his future. Now, he just had to hope there would be a future.

Kurt refused to believe the world would end before they had a chance to get married. It couldn't happen. He had been planning the wedding before he even met the man he would marry. 15 some odd years of planning would not go to waste because of some asteroid!

The street he was on now was less crowded and seemed to be less impacted than the section he had left south of him. There weren't as many fires and the air was less clogged with ash and smoke. He came upon a 7-11 convenience store and, amazingly enough, it was open. Walking inside and unsure of what he would find, he discovered a completely normal looking store, fully stocked, and the cashier still behind the counter.

Even though it was very strange to see someone stick to their post in a natural disaster, Kurt was grateful to see her and set about gathering some supplies. As he was going through the shelves picking out food and beverages to get him through the next few days, it dawned on him that the credit card machine was most likely not working. He would need cash. After looking in his wallet, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had some cash on him from when he and Blaine were trying to win lottery tickets to a Broadway show last week. If your name was called, you needed to pay for the tickets in cash. They hadn't won, so he still had the money. He was suddenly no longer disappointed about missing out on the show.

He brought his provisions to the counter and the cashier rung him up, giving him a 25% "disaster" discount. Kurt was pretty sure she had just made that up, but laughed, paid her for the supplies and shoved them into his messenger back. He cracked open one of the water bottles he bought once he got outside and drank down half of it right away. His throat was so dry from breathing in all the crap in the air and the water made him feel a bit human again.

Up ahead, he could see the iconic top of the Empire State building and was glad to see that it hadn't sustained any noticeable damage. There was something about seeing your major landmarks still standing that gave you some comfort. He didn't care so much if one of the thousands of parking garages in the city was crumbling from a direct hit.

Thankfully, Kurt had chosen wisely and the east side of the city was pretty cleared out. So he jumped even more when he heard, "KURT!"

"Huh? What?" he said, startled as he looked around, wildly.

"Over here, buddy!" came the voice. It wasn't Blaine's voice and his heart sank.

He looked around until he saw a hand waving to him from a nearby parking garage entrance. That wasn't shady at all.

"Who is it?" he said with trepidation in his voice.

"It's Chuck, from Theater History class."

Ah, okay. Deciding he was harmless, Kurt approached the entrance and ducked inside. Chuck was in his Monday/Wednesday afternoon class with him and Blaine. He sat in the front, always raised his hand and came off as a bit of an overachiever. Kurt wanted to smack him some days when he reminded the professor that they hadn't gone over a reading that was assigned or that "according to the syllabus, we should be doing a project soon". That was their last class of the day and all Kurt wanted to do was get home so he and Blaine could cook dinner and snuggle on the couch while watching TV.

"Where are you headed, man?" Chuck asked.

Kurt considered it for a moment and wondered if he should divulge his plan. Then he laughed at himself thinking that heading to Times Square to look for some friends was not top secret plans by any means. So he said, "Times Square. We had some friends in from out of town and that's the last place they would have been before this, whatever it is, hit."

"Spacecraft pieces."

Kurt gave Chuck a strange look, "Spacecraft pieces what?"

"That's what this is. Falling from the sky and destroying our city. Spacecraft pieces." He said it so coolly and logically as if Kurt should know that information.

"How do you know that? Is your phone working? Can I use it to call Blaine?" Kurt was excited for a minute thinking that maybe Chuck's phone was getting service and he could get a hold of Blaine.

"What? No. The phones won't work. The satellites were mostly taken out by the shrapnel and what little are left have been shifted over to be dedicated to government and military use. I know what's going on because I have an emergency weather radio and they've been broadcasting updates." Chuck produced the radio and gave it a few cranks on the handle to help keep it charged. It was one of the emergency radios that didn't need a power supply from batteries or electricity because it ran on the energy created by the user cranking a handle on the side of the radio.

Kurt was anxious to find Blaine and the guys, but Chuck had information and he felt like that might be helpful if he stopped and got the full story on what was going on in the world. So even though he wanted to end this weird conversation and be on his way, he proceeded to ask more questions of Chuck.

"So tell me what you have heard so far. All I know is that crap is falling from the sky and destroying everything. I was trying to get across the Manhattan Bridge to find Blaine and the thing got hit so bad that sections of the road were falling into the water." Kurt's emotions were starting to get the better of him as he heard his voice crack. "So I have no idea where Blaine is and I no longer have a way of getting to Brooklyn to find him."

"Woah, okay, I'm sure Blaine's fine. You'll find him, man." Chuck patted his shoulder in a gesture of comfort. "This is what I know so far. You know that there was an asteroid poised to hit Earth, right?"

Kurt nodded his head yes.

"Well, they sent a spacecraft up to redirect its orbit so it was no longer headed towards us. From what I've heard, the spaceship wasn't powerful enough to redirect it and it ended up hitting the asteroid and blowing up. All of this crap raining down on us is from that explosion. It's only affecting the east coast of the US right now."

Kurt just stood there, mouth agape.

"So now they are trying to figure out if the asteroid was knocked off its course enough to avoid impacting us. Or if it didn't, where and when it might impact." Chuck looked oddly calm considering the news he had just delivered.

"Ok, no offense, Chuck, but why the hell do you look so calm?" Kurt asked after he regained his ability to form sentences.

"No offense taken, man. It's simple. I have a shelter all ready to go and I have my jump bag here with all of my essentials. Once this initial round of insanity passes and all the space junk stops falling, we're going to make our way to my shelter."

"We?" Kurt asked as he looked around and didn't see anyone else but Chuck.

"Yeah, two other guys from our dance lab are with me. They are down the other end of the garage looking for supplies; open cars we can boost, any supplies we can use. Hey, you are welcome to come with us. There's plenty of room and food for you and Blaine."

Kurt considered it for a minute. That was looking like a decent option. As much as he made fun of those doomsday preppers on that reality TV show, in this situation, they didn't seem all that nuts. He needed to let Chuck know that there were four of them though, and that 3 of them were still out there somewhere.

"Wow, Chuck, that's really nice of you and I think it's a great idea but I was actually on my way to find our two friends whose last known whereabouts were Times Square. If I can't get to Brooklyn to find Blaine, I need to focus on finding them. Do you have room for the four of us?" Kurt scrunched up his face waiting for Chuck to say no.

"Sure! Hey, do you need help finding them? We could venture out now, I think. I haven't seen much else falling from the sky recently."

Torn between not wanting anyone to hold him back and really wanting some help, he decided to accept Chuck's help. "OK, great. I'd appreciate it if you'd help me find our friends."

"Okay, just let me get Matt and Chris," he said as he disappeared into the darker part of the garage.

If Matt and Chris were the two guys he was thinking of, then he knew who they were. Matt was a cool guy, but not all that great at dancing. Plus, Kurt was pretty sure he wasn't a morning person because he always looked like he was sleeping through his dance routines. They shared a class on Tuesday afternoons though, and in that class Matt was always talkative and energetic. He and Matt had swapped notes from class on occasion too if one of them wasn't able to make it. Overall, he was a good guy.

Chris, however, was a different story. Kurt didn't care for Chris very much. When they lined up during dance lab, Chris always stood behind Blaine and he was certain that he caught the guy staring at Blaine's ass as he was bent over stretching. Kurt even shot the guy a dirty look one day when he saw what he was doing and Chris just smiled when he saw that Kurt was rattled. Jerk. He wasn't getting any of Kurt's granola bars.

Kurt turned around and looked back outside. It was quieter than it had been earlier when he was by the bridge. He was hoping that they could all make it to Times Square without incident. He also thought that if he passed an electronics store that he should try to buy or acquire one of those emergency radios that Chuck had with him. Now that he knew some of what was going on, he wanted to stay on top of what was happening with the asteroid.

It was darker than normal for this time of night between most of the streetlights being out and the heavy layer of smoke that still blanketed the air. He had picked up a flashlight earlier on his supply run and he pulled it out now and put batteries in it. Then he opened a Nutri-grain bar, ate it, and washed it down with the other half of bottle of water from earlier. Dinner of champions, he thought.

Chuck reappeared with Matt and Chris in tow. Dammit, it was the Chris from dance lab. The fiancé ass starer.

"Hey Kurt, how's it going?" Matt asked.

He looked at the guy like he was nuts. How's it going? How do you think it's going? Instead of giving his usual sassy response to a question that stupid, he gave Matt the benefit of the doubt. After all, what do you really say to someone during a natural disaster? And it wasn't Chris that asked.

"It's been better. I'm hoping to find Blaine and our friends and then I'll let you know how I'm doing." Kurt felt bad because his reply still had a bit of edge to it. So he followed it up with, "How are you holding up?"

"Same. Neither of us can get in touch with our parents, who live on the other side of the country. There's no way we can travel that far by car or by foot, so we're lucky enough to have found Chuck, who offered to let us stay with him."

Kurt just shook his head. "Yeah, my family is in Ohio. I can't even find Blaine a borough away, let alone contact my dad in Ohio. I'm glad I ran into you guys too."

Chris spoke up, "You haven't heard from Blaine? We can definitely help you find him, don't worry."

Chuck jumped in, deciding the pity party needed to end. He missed Kurt's dirty look at Chris as he directed his question at Chris, "Were you able to find something we can drive later? Or two somethings? Now that we've added to our merry band of misfits?"

Chris nodded, "Yeah, there's a red kidnapper looking van on the second floor. It was open and there was a key in a magnetic holder under the wheel well. I guess with a van that looks like that, you don't expect anyone to take it. We'll have to unload it though. It must belong to a guy in a band because the back is filled with guitars and amps."

Chuck laughed, "Okay, that shouldn't be a problem. We'll need time for all the cars to clear out anyway, so let's hoof it up to find Kurt's friends and then we can come back and clear out the van."

With a solid plan in place, the four of them set out to find Nick and Jeff, and hopefully, Blaine.

Sitting down on the sidewalk, hands on his knees and his head hung low, Blaine tried to regroup and figure out just how he was going to get out of Brooklyn. With the two bridges being destroyed, there was no way he could walk or drive out. He could try to get out through Staten Island but that would take him forever and traveling over a bunch more, probably destroyed, bridges.

His stomach growled loudly as he sat there thinking about his next move, so he reached into his bag and pulled out a bag of cashews. The salty taste of the cashews was a wonderful change of pace from the smoke taste that had been occupying his mouth. He took a few sips of water in between mouthfuls to help wash everything down. Even that little bit of nutrition was enough to help him to feel more like himself. Blaine couldn't go long without eating or he got very light headed and grumpy. Kurt liked to refer to it as him being "hangry", and knew to give him a cookie or a snack.

Blaine wished Kurt were here to give him a cookie. He missed him so much even though it had only been a few hours since they had last seen each other. He knew Kurt was capable of taking care of himself, but Blaine loved being able to calm and comfort him when Kurt needed him. It gave Blaine as sense of purpose and anchored him. Right then he felt a little lost without his other half.

Trying to channel his Boy Scout training from when he was younger, he thought about what to do in a situation when you are lost or separated from your group. Your first priority is to make sure you are in a safe area. Blaine looked around and decided that being in the vicinity of a quickly deteriorating bridge was not the best idea. He quickly got up, packed his things back into his backpack and walked in the opposite direction of the bridge.

The sidewalks and streets were filled with cars and people reevaluating their own escape options. Those in cars were trapped in the gridlock of traffic that was trying to get out over the bridges. They now had to wait until the people behind them turned around or moved so they could move. People were walking back east, away from the bridges, not sure of what to do next. Blaine was among those people having to rethink his plan.

Then he saw it and the light bulb went off- the subway station. The trains couldn't be running any more, right? I mean, nothing seemed to be running when he went down there before to check on Kurt's train. He could walk underground in the subway tunnels to Manhattan. He'd only need to go from the last Brooklyn station to the first station on the other side of the river in Manhattan. That wasn't that far. At least it didn't seem that far when they were on the train.

Deciding that was his best option at the moment, Blaine headed towards the stairs leading down into the station. As he got to the bottom, habit had him pulling out his Metro card to slide through the slot so he could enter the turnstiles. He laughed and put it back in his pocket once he realized that there was no power to the card readers nor were there any station attendants working. Instead, he hopped over the turnstile and landed deftly on the platform.

Apparently, he was not the only one that got the idea to take the tunnels over and he was glad because he felt like there was safety in numbers. A train conductor was way more likely to see 50 or so people in a tunnel than just one person in a tunnel. He looked down over the edge of the platform to the tracks. There was all manner of unspeakable things down there. He was betting that if Kurt were here and had to do this, he would refuse to go on account of getting his designer shoes dirty. Not to mention the fact that there was a disgusting, damp, hot breeze emanating from the tunnel, which was probably disintegrating the hours-old hair gel in Blaine's hair.

Blaine thought that that would be the last straw for Kurt. No way would he go through that damp tunnel and risk his hair becoming gross. He remembered the time that he and Kurt went to the waterpark out in Ohio and Kurt refused to go on any rides, stating that he'd look like a drowned rat afterwards. That stubborn, beautiful man sat in a pool side lounger all day with his e-reader and waved to Blaine as he went down slide after slide. His hair was flawless at the end of the day and Blaine's resembled that of a man who had a run in with a light socket.

Knowing that, he also felt better because he thought Kurt most likely would not be trying to make his way over to Brooklyn through the tunnels, and he sure as hell wasn't trying to swim his way over either. Looking down once more and cringing at the filth he was about to jump into, Blaine sat on the edge of the platform and slid down onto the floor of the tunnel.

Instantly, something squished under his feet and he jumped, and looked down to see that it was just a rotten banana. Damn, he needed to be less squeamish if he was going to make it all the way across to the other station. There were people already ahead of him in the tunnel and they seemed unharmed so far. He couldn't help but feel a slight trepidation in heading into an enclosed tunnel under a river with the ever present threat of a train barreling down at you.

Everything in his nature yelled for him to turn back, there had to be another way, but his heart overrode all of his survival instincts. He needed to get to Kurt and find him and make sure he was safe and unharmed. That was the driving force behind his decision and the only thing that kept his feet moving forward into the darkness.

Before he was completely immersed in darkness, Blaine took off his backpack and retrieved the flashlight he had put in there. The tunnel was so dark that the beam of light only let him see the floor about 3 feet in front of him. He was following behind a group of what appeared to be business men in suits and expensive looking shoes. Blaine was thankful for the fact that he was dressed in jeans, a polo shirt and a sweater. It lent itself better to crawling through subway tunnels in an apocalypse than a business suit.

A giant drop of something dripped from the ceiling, hit Blaine's gelled hair and ran down the front of his face onto his sweater. GROSS! He didn't even want to think about what liquid that might have been. He kept his eyes focused forward, looking for any signs of a train, and listening for any indication of panic from the people ahead.

"Hey, do you mind if I follow you?" came a voice from about 2 feet behind Blaine.

"Holy shit!" Blaine exclaimed. He didn't realize there was anyone following that closely behind him. He looked back to see a fairly normal looking man in a polo shirt and khakis. It looked like the guy was on his way home from work when all of this started. He didn't have a briefcase or backpack, just whatever fit in his pants pockets. His hair was mussed and it looked like he may have been running since he was out of breath. "Oh, sorry. You scared me half to death! I didn't realize you were there. Sure, no problem. The flashlight's not doing much but at least it's kept me from tripping and falling so far."

The guy chuckled a little at having startled Blaine and then followed next to him as they proceeded down the tunnel. Blaine was an optimist by nature and usually pretty trusting of people. Though at that moment, he had a sick feeling in his stomach. He was alone in a dark tunnel, under water, with limited supplies and a stranger tagging along next to him. I mean the guy looked normal but, who's to say he wouldn't jump him and take his backpack? The guy didn't have anything with him, not even a flashlight.

Obviously the stench of old train oil and rat poop was getting to him. He needed to stop that line of negative thinking and concentrate on getting to the end of the tunnel. What was that noise? Was it a train? His eyes had somewhat adjusted to the dark but he still couldn't see that far ahead of them in the tunnel.

If he got out of this alive, he promised himself that he would make it a point to always be wary of what he last said to Kurt. He was still bothered that he hadn't called him back or at least texted Kurt that he loved him. Blaine had been so focused on getting to his piano lesson on time. If he had just taken 2 seconds, at least he'd feel better about the last thing he said to Kurt. Now guilt was one of the many feelings swirling through his mind as he made his way slowly through the dark.

The guy next to Blaine stopped and put his arm out to halt Blaine's forward motion. Blaine's immediate reaction was to turn on the guy with his hands up to defend himself.

"Shh, relax. I thought I heard something," the now defensive guy said.

Blaine relaxed his stance as he was told and strained his ears to see if he could hear what the guy had heard. It appeared to be two noises- a dripping noise and a scraping noise. The dripping noise had been there pretty much the whole time. He guessed that was water making its way through the concrete. At least that's what he told himself it was so he didn't get too grossed out. The scraping noise was what bothered him.

Shining the flashlight ahead of them, then next to them, and then on the walls of the shaft, he didn't immediately see anything. He turned around to tell the guy it was all clear and as he shifted the flashlight ahead of him, he shrieked!

"What?" the guy asks, startled from Blaine's screaming.

"Oh geeze, it's a rat!" Blaine exclaimed as he aimed the light at the furry creature about 5 feet in front of them. Blaine laughed it off, and moved forward, feeling a little silly about the screaming. The guy had now dropped back a little behind him. He probably thought Blaine was nuts. Blaine was oddly okay with him keeping his distance considering he didn't really trust the guy.

As they walked on in the narrow, dark tunnel, there was a sudden noise from above them. It shook the whole tunnel and made Blaine pick up his pace even more. If this thing was giving way he did not want to be underwater when it happened. He broke out into a slow jog.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said the guy behind him, "These tunnels are slippery from all the motor oil from the subway cars. You don't want to fall down here."

Guess what? Slipping on motor oil and falling seemed less fatal than the entire tunnel collapsing and filling with water. He continued on his current pace as the tunnel shook again. Blaine had to steady himself on the side wall of the tunnel to keep from losing his footing. Were they having an earthquake now? He needed to get out of there immediately.

Once again, the entire tunnel shook and Blaine spun around, trying to get a handhold on the wall to keep himself upright. As he looked back, he saw that the tunnel was starting to crumble. A giant chunk of the ceiling crashed down in between him and polo shirt guy. Blaine jumped backwards and another piece came down, this one catching polo shirt guy on his chest, causing him to fall backwards.

Blaine saw it all play out in front of him in slow motion. The chunk of tunnel fell, hit the man, he fell backwards, hit his head on the subway track, and instantly snapped his head to the side. Blaine heard the sickening crunch as he saw the guy, lying completely still on the ground, blood coming from his ears and his nose.

He was definitely going to be sick and he held his stomach. Once he was sure he was safe from any immediate harm, he turned and wretched, bringing up the contents of his stomach. His hands were shaking and he could barely stand. He had never witnessed anyone die before, heck he couldn't even remember attending anyone's funeral. His grandparents were still alive and he had absolutely no experience with death.

Before he completely collapsed in a heap on the disgusting ground, he leaned a hand up against the wall as he doubled over, trying to collect himself. He forced himself into a standing position once again and took a few deep cleansing breaths. He didn't even know the guy's name. Getting out of this tunnel quickly had to be his focus. It was not the time to mourn the loss of his travel companion.

Retrieving the flashlight he had tucked into the side pouch of his backpack, he continued on through the tunnel, not jogging any more. Up ahead he heard the sounds of other people cheering. He must have been near the station in Manhattan! He was so close to being in the same place he thought Kurt might be. The thought of finding Kurt and wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug is what fueled him to keep going and get to the end of the tunnel.

It got lighter towards the end and he could see that people were helping others up onto the platform from the tracks. It was nice to see New Yorkers band together to help each other in times like this. Usually, they gave you a dirty look when you asked them to move forward so you could fit on the train and not have to wait for the next one to arrive.

Blaine was moving faster now, being mindful of his traction on the ground. The light cast by the station lights gave him more confidence in his footing, so he could move faster and not have to depend on the flashlight. He finally reached the station and a larger man reached his hand down, offering to help Blaine up onto the platform.

"Thanks, man! Much appreciated!" Blaine said as he landed safely on the tiles of the platform.

The man nodded and they all proceeded to the stairway leading to street level. The air in the station was cool and damp, not the usual hot and smelly air from the train exhaust. This station wasn't that far under the street level so there were only two short flights of stairs up to the sidewalk. When his left foot hit the first stair, he was elated. Finally in Manhattan!

As he was climbing up the stairs, he heard a weird gushing sound and a low rumble. He couldn't imagine what the heck was making that noise. It didn't sound encouraging though and he started to run up the steps, taking them two at a time. As he was doing so he thought maybe he shouldn't rush towards the sound in case it was more incoming projectiles, being underground would be safer.

Before he could even make up his mind one way or another, he was violently whisked backwards down the stairs by a huge wave of water. Blaine struggled to catch his breath and was completely disoriented as he opened his eyes and just saw water everywhere. He tried to paddle forward, towards the stairs again, but the rush was too much. His lungs burned from holding his breath and his eyes stung from trying to keep them open underwater. It was like being trapped in a huge swimming pool.

After a few seconds of struggling, his whole body went limp. He was floating along so peacefully until it dawned on him what was happening. Blaine was drowning.

**A/N- OK, don't hurt me… I have Chapter 8 written. I just need to tweak it and get it reviewed. So you won't have to wait long. Thanks to Kelly B for referring readers, she's the best, isn't she? Thanks to all of you for giving my story a chance. I love you all. And thanks to my lovely betas. You know who you are. Never stop challenging me and pushing me to be better. **


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

As he opened his eyes, he looked around and saw nothing but blackness. Blaine thought he was dead and that must be what the after-life looked like. But then he realized that his one eye was blocked by something and his other eye was just slow to focus. He saw train tracks. He was back in the subway on the ground near the tracks. UGH! He slowly rolled onto his back so he could try to move his arms to remove whatever was blocking his vision.

Turns out it was a Metro Card, stuck to his forehead and covering his one eye. He pocketed it in case it had a balance. He chuckled at the ridiculousness of his thought process. Hey, money was money. He sat up and did a quick assessment of his situation.

Besides being soaking wet, he still had his backpack on his back, he could move his arms and legs, but he had a whopping headache and his throat was raw. Blaine's guess was that he ingested some of the water. That thought grossed him out to no end. Subway water. He reached his hand up to feel the back of his head and felt a giant egg there. The force of the water must have caused him to hit his head against something. At least he was still alive.

He looked around and saw what he thought looked like a scene from a horror movie. There were people strewn about the tracks and the platform above him- some were moving, some were not. His hearing started to return but it sounded like his head was in a fishbowl. Everything was tinny and echoed. He heard people screaming, crying, coughing and yelling names.

Where had all that water come from all of a sudden? He had been so close to getting out of the subway station. The water hadn't stayed long as there was only a little bit of water pooled in the bottom of the station. It must have been just a wave that washed in from the surface and not a tunnel leak.

Carefully, he tried to stand up, making sure he could put weight on his legs and nothing was broken or sprained. Once on his feet, he paused for a moment to clear his head, as standing up made him dizzy. The bump to his head was to blame and he hoped he didn't have a concussion.

Before something else happened to impede him exiting the station again, he pulled himself up onto the cold tile of the platform and headed towards the exit. As he approached the stairs, he got that nervous feeling in his stomach again. What were the odds that he'd get swept away by a giant rush of water twice in the same spot? He didn't even want to think about it.

He turned back and looked at the platform and felt bad about leaving all the people that were either hurt or injured, but he didn't have enough first aid supplies in his bag for everyone, nor would it help to stop and console everyone that had suffered a loss. As much as it pained him to do nothing, he needed to worry about himself and get out of this station alive. Besides, he didn't know if Kurt was injured somewhere and he may need the first aid supplies to help him.

These were extenuating circumstances, so Blaine should not feel bad about not helping people, nor should he feel bad about finally getting to the sidewalk in one piece. He was never happier to see the streets of New York.

Times Square was even more of a mad house than Kurt had anticipated. There were people crowding the streets everywhere by the tens of thousands. He thought there might have been more people there then than there were on New Year's Eve. Glancing over his shoulder he saw that Chuck, Matt and Chris were still with him, but also struggling to get through the crowds of people.

The plan was to check to see if they had shelters set up yet, and then see if Nick and Jeff had registered as staying in the shelter. Unfortunately, they couldn't tell where the lines for the shelters began because there were just so many people. There were probably shelters set up in other neighborhoods too, but since Nick and Jeff would have most likely been in Times Square when things went bad, they had a better chance of starting their search there.

Chuck grabbed Kurt's shoulder and pointed to their left. "Over there. It's a sign that says, 'Check for names here'."

Kurt nodded and made a "Let's Go" gesture with his hand. Chuck grabbed Matt and Chris and the four of them tried to make their way over to the line for the shelter. The line started about a mile back from the table, or at least it seemed. He hoped there weren't too many shelters to check. It was already getting late at night and Kurt was really starting to get tired. The four guys stood in line, each looking as haggard as Kurt felt.

"This is a living nightmare," Kurt sighed.

"I hear you, man. But this will help us find them or rule out where they aren't." Matt said, trying to provide some comfort. All of his friends and family were on the west coast, so they weren't hit as far as he knew. However, his parents were probably worried sick about him.

"That's true. I just hope this line goes fast. I feel like we have a lot of ground to cover and I'm really going to need to rest eventually. I've been up since 6am this morning," Kurt stated as he looked around at the people packed in the 4 blocks that he could see.

There were people of every race, nationality and creed. He was guessing that most of them were tourists or out-of-town guests that had lost their hotel rooms for whatever reason and were now stranded here with no place to stay and no way to get back to their homes. What was even weirder, though, was the level of darkness in Times Square. It had to be close to midnight and this section of New York was known for its flashy lights and giant, glitzy video billboards. Right now they were all dark, every one of them, even the giant crystal ball at the south end of Times Square that marked the coming New Year. The only lights around were portable lights attached to batteries or gas powered generators. It was enough light to be able to read names off the list of shelter inhabitants and help people see where they were going.

Kurt felt a strange sense of dread wash over him. It was as if the darkness portended their situation. He couldn't let himself think these things. They would find Nick and Jeff and then they would find Blaine and everyone would be okay as long as they were together.

As they stood there in line, packed in tight, there were elbows and knees poking him from all sides. Kurt was being carried forward slowly, but not on his own accord. The crowd was just surging forward so much that he had no choice but to go with it. It was hard to breathe as the air was thick from the smoke and ash and he was being pressed against other people so hard that felt like he couldn't get a full breath of air in his lungs.

The sounds were just terrible too. Sirens were always blaring in New York but after a while you just tuned them out. Added to that, though, were the sounds of crying, sobbing, screaming and angry yelling. New York was a loud city, which is why Kurt usually wore headphones when he walked around by himself. That wasn't something he could do right now. Between wanting to reserve his phone battery and needing to hear if something was happening around him, he'd just have to suffer with the cacophony of sounds.

His nose and eyes still burned from the ash in the air. In addition, it seemed like a lot of people had given up on attempting to find a restroom and the smell of urine was so much stronger than usual. He didn't even want to look down under his feet for fear he'd lose it when he saw his designer shoes standing in a puddle of pee.

He felt Chuck touch his back every so often to let him know he was still there as they slowly moved forward in the line. To try and help block out the assault on his senses, he thought about Blaine and all of their favorite moments in the city together. When Blaine first moved to New York from Ohio, he was like a little kid let loose in a candy store. He wanted to explore everything. Kurt remembered their first time taking the subway together and how Blaine almost got caught in the doors because he kept letting everyone get on before him. He had stood there saying, "After you, no after you, I insist." Kurt had been the first one on the train, knowing that you needed to get on when those doors opened! He could see Blaine through the window, ushering everyone on before himself and then Kurt had gasped in horror as Blaine realized the doors were closing, and entered at the last second, the door clipping his shoulder.

In typical Blaine fashion though, he had found Kurt further down the car and just said, "Wow that was a close one, huh?" Most people would have been angry about getting hit by the heavy subway door, but Blaine had taken it all in stride as he stood there, grinning at Kurt, holding on to the pole, and trying to keep his balance. Kurt had to laugh and told Blaine that next time he needed to just get on the train when it arrived.

Blaine still hadn't completely lost his sense of childlike wonder after nearly 8 months of living in New York. There were a lot of stairs in the subway and as Kurt huffed and cursed under his breath at the fifth flight of stairs they had to climb in certain stations, Blaine was always up ahead of him, running up the stairs, like it was no effort to him whatsoever. It kind of pissed Kurt off to watch him do that when he was there struggling to make it to the top. Kurt wasn't in bad shape, but he was convinced that Blaine was superhuman.

The line was moving and he was halfway to the front of the line now. He glanced back to see that Chuck was behind him and Matt and Chris were behind Chuck. They all smiled at him and gave him a quick encouraging head nod. Chris was probably staring at people's asses. He didn't know how they could appear to be so calm under the circumstances.

Kurt's distraction technique was working, and he was coping with the crowds better now, so he thought back to another one of his favorite Blaine memories. Washington Square Park was near their school so they often went there together on breaks in between classes. They'd get some coffee and sit on a bench in the park somewhere. Sometimes they'd read and other times they'd just people watch. He and Blaine would sit beside each other on the bench with their legs touching, or sometimes with their feet intertwined.

Occasionally, there would be a band or musician playing in the park. Without even realizing he was doing it, Blaine would keep time with the music. He'd either tap his foot or drum on his book with his pencil, or tap his finger on the top of Kurt's hand in his lap. Blaine wasn't just an actor, he loved music too and could play the piano and guitar. Kurt was pretty sure Blaine would be able to play any instrument that was handed to him, as he was naturally gifted with the ability to read and play music. Kurt would give anything to be on that bench next to him right now, Blaine mindlessly humming a song and rubbing his thumb over Kurt's hand as he held it.

There was a tapping on Kurt's back that brought him out of his thoughts of Blaine. It was Chuck.

"Hey, we're almost there. Move up a bit and don't let these people get in front of us," Chuck said as he nudged Kurt forward a little.

"I can see nothing changes in Times Square, even in a natural disaster. People are still being rude and trying to cut the line. Ugh…" Matt chimed in from behind Chuck.

Kurt moved forward and closed the gap until he was able to get to the front of the line a few moments later. The woman in front of him had a clipboard in her hand and was dressed in a blue "Federal Emergency Management Agency" jump suit. She looked less than happy to have to deal with the thousands of people in line still waiting to talk to her.

"Name of the person you're looking for?" she barked at Kurt.

"Nick Duval and Jeff Sterling," Kurt stated, and then quickly added "And Blaine Anderson."

She scanned down the list, flipped the pages, scanned again, flipped the page again, and gave him a worried look. "Would they be here under any other name? I don't show any of those names."

"Not that I know of. Are there any Nicks, Jeffs listed? Maybe I have their last names wrong."

She looked again, "No Nicks with that last name and no Jeffs at all."

He suddenly thought of two more names, "What about Santana Lopez or Rachel Berry?" Kurt had forgotten about them. They lived together and he hadn't even thought of Rachel this whole time. He was a terrible friend. Hopefully they had been at work together and were able to find a place to stay the night. He hated not being able to call or text anyone.

"No Rachel or Santana either," the woman stated dryly.

He thanked her and motioned to the three guys that he was moving to the side. After they each checked for some friends, also with no luck, they met Kurt over on the sidewalk to discuss what they should do next.

Kurt looked at the group and said wearily, "I don't know what to do now. They aren't in the shelter, yet. They could be here with us and we may not even know it. Blaine could be here. There are just so many people, I can't even imagine how we'd begin to look for them."

Matt was the first to put his hand on Kurt's shoulder and try to comfort him. "I know, Kurt. I don't know either. We will find Blaine. And your friends. I know you are worried about him and I am sure that Blaine is just as worried about you, wherever he is right now." He gave Kurt a quick hug.

Matt was always nice to them in class. He said hi every morning when he walked in, and sometimes he chatted with Blaine about the game over the weekend. If Kurt and Blaine weren't always so consumed with each other, Matt and Blaine might actually be better friends. Matt had invited Blaine out a few times to go watch a game or to see a movie, but Blaine always said no in favor of spending time with Kurt. Maybe Kurt would have to start pushing Blaine to do more things with other friends. Matt seemed like he was a genuinely nice guy.

Bringing Kurt back to the problem at hand, Matt suggested, "Sometimes the best thing to do is stay put for a while so you aren't passing each other. We need some food, because I am starting to feel dizzy. So let's try to find something to eat. Also, it's got to be 2 or 3am by now. I don't know about you, but I say we let this crowd thin out a little and find a place to catch a few hours of sleep."

Chris looked at the long line to check into the shelter. Then he said, "I don't want to wait in that line for the shelter. We're New Yorkers. We can find somewhere around here to crash for the night."

Chuck and Matt agreed. Kurt looked at the line and couldn't fathom standing pressed up against all those people in a pool of urine, so he agreed to look for a place to crash.

"Why don't we try to get out of Times Square itself? Maybe look down one of the side streets and find a place to stay for now," Kurt suggested.

The guys agreed and they walked away from the bustle of Times Square and towards the side streets where the theaters were located. Kurt felt kind of sad since a few days ago he and Blaine were right outside that very theater trying to win tickets to the show. Now he was tired and hungry and couldn't find Blaine. It was insane that everything had gotten so screwed up so quickly.

Kurt looked down the street and saw the iconic green sign that said "Wicked" and sighed. Jeff had wanted to see that play so badly and now he may never get the chance. They were supposed to try to get tickets before the guys left town. Kurt was sure that once they could leave NYC, those two would be back on the first flight to California. As he stared at the marquee, he got an idea.

"Hey guys! We can try one of the theaters. No one will be in them, in theory, and a lot of these are really old solid buildings that have been here forever. They'd probably be a great place to stay in if we can get inside."

With all of them being theater majors, it didn't take more than 3 seconds to collectively agree that staying in a theater would be a great idea. So they headed to the Gershwin Theater in front of them that was home to the show "Wicked."

Of course the front doors were locked, because having them unlocked would be too easy. So Chuck led them around the side to the actor's entrance. After a few hard tugs, the door came open. It looked like it had been locked from the inside with a broom handle, because when they walked in there was a broom on the floor in front of the door. That was weird.

Before they set about looking for a place to sleep for a bit, Kurt had to go do something. He headed for the stage and walked out onto it. The set was still in place since they actively had a show every night here except Monday. There was a ghost light shining down onto the center of the stage making it possible to navigate in the dark. It was magical and all his terrible thoughts from the day were momentarily forgotten as he explored the stage and set. He ran his fingers along the steampunk-esque clockwork design of the set and imagined what it would be like to be up here, performing to a full house. It was his dream and now he wasn't sure if there would even be a Broadway after the next few days.

He sat down cross legged in the middle of the stage and just took it all in. Wouldn't it be nice if Blaine were here and they could be on this stage together? Even if they weren't lucky enough to make it onto the same show, Blaine would be in the audience for him and he for Blaine. This was their future, not running from pieces of spaceship and broken off pieces of asteroid.

He was brought out of his line of thinking by Matt's voice. "We found some couches and food in the green room. I'm sure if we check the leads' dressing rooms we'll find more." Matt tossed Kurt an orange.

Kurt tossed the orange in the air and caught it, "Thanks."

As Kurt peeled the orange flesh from the fruit, Matt sat down next to him. "Chris and Chuck are looking around for more food. There's a bunch of cases of water in the green room, so we should be set for a while with that."

Kurt just nodded his head, glumly.

"Hey, it's going to be okay, Kurt. We will find Blaine. I know it has to be so hard being separated from him right now and not knowing if he's okay. We will help you find him though. Chuck's anxious to get to his family's shelter, but in times like this we have to stick together. We can't just leave you alone in New York without helping you find Blaine and your friends," Matt said and Kurt thought he genuinely meant it.

It had been nice meeting up with them and having someone else to help him. Not having anyone to talk to, or anyone to help back his decisions, would have had him second guessing himself constantly. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and turned it on again to check the time and to see if he had a signal. No messages, no signal, no wifi, and it was 3:07am.

He looked from his phone to Matt, "Still no signal. How about you?"

Matt pulled his phone out and turned it on. He looked down, shook his head no and then turned the phone back off. "It's probably going to take a while for the cell towers and satellites to work again."

Kurt sighed, "I just feel so helpless. These phones are our lifeline and when they don't work, what do we do?"

As he popped a section of orange in his mouth, he could feel the sweet juice making his mouth feel and taste better. Kurt definitely needed the sustenance.

Looking at Matt, he said, "I just don't know where to start looking for him. I don't know if he made it out of Brooklyn before the bridges collapsed. I don't know if he's trapped on a train in a tunnel under the East River, or if he's here in Times Square. That's the most frustrating part. And if what Chuck says is true and the biggest part of the asteroid has yet to hit us, we need to be somewhere safe."

Matt pulled Kurt to him and wrapped him in a hug. "Kurt, if I know Blaine, he is on his way to you. I mean do you really think something as small as getting across the East River is going to stop him? Blaine probably sweet talked himself onto someone's boat and he's in Manhattan trying to figure out where you'd go."

Kurt laughed so hard. Matt was probably right. Blaine never backed down from a challenge, especially one that involved being with Kurt. The man managed to find a way to be in New York for all of Kurt's special events last year even though he was still living in Ohio. Matt had a point in that getting across the river wouldn't be much of a challenge for Blaine.

"You're probably right, but even if he is in Manhattan, how would I find him?" Kurt posed.

"Are you kidding me? Blaine has Kurt radar. You know he can tell exactly when Chris is staring at your ass in dance lab…."

"Wait. What? Chris stares at my ass?" Kurt said, "I thought he was staring at Blaine's ass all this time."

"He stares at both of your asses. The man is a pig!" Matt joked, "I always make sure I'm behind him."

Kurt just shook his head as he laughed. He was glad to have Matt there to make him laugh a little. He needed the mental break. He had finished the orange now and had sticky hands which meant it was time to find a place to wash up.

Matt spoke again before Kurt had a chance to get up, "I know you're worried about Blaine, but right now, being as late, or as early as it is, I think it's best we try to grab a few hours of rest."

Kurt stood up. "I know… I need a restroom and maybe some more food first," he said as Matt stood up beside him.

Out in the hall Chuck and Chris were coming down the metal stairs from the upper levels and spotted Kurt and Matt.

"Hey guys, there's more food upstairs, but the lead actress' dressing room is locked. You don't think she could still be in there, do you? I knocked but we didn't get an answer," Chuck informed them.

Kurt looked perplexed and excited by the fact that maybe she was in her dressing room. "Why don't we try again? If she's not answering it's possible she's in there and hurt. We should find a way to open the door and check."

The group walked up the thin metal stairs to the actors' dressing rooms. As Kurt came up to the lead's dressing room, he found that the door was indeed locked. He cautiously knocked on the door.

There was no answer. So he knocked again and said softly, "Hi, my name is Kurt and I'm a huge fan of the show. We just wanted to make sure you were okay. Are you okay? Can you let us in?"

The door whipped open and arms went around his neck, almost knocking him backwards.

"KURT!" yelled a very excited Nick.

"Oh my gosh! Nick! I am so glad we found you. We have been looking everywhere for you. Is Jeff here too?" Kurt shrieked, not the least bit upset that it wasn't the lead actress.

Nick didn't let go of Kurt as he explained, "Yes, but he's hurt and he can't walk well. We were here at the theater entering the lottery for the show tonight when the sky opened up. One of the pieces of flaming building came down and hit Jeff's leg. It's badly burnt and I'm not sure if it's broken or sprained or he just can't walk on it from the burn."

Nick's voice was cracking and he was shaking in Kurt's arms now. Kurt pulled him into a tighter hug and tried to reassure him.

"Everything is going to be okay, Nick. We'll find some help for Jeff. Where is he now?"

Nick pulled the door open wider to reveal a crumpled up Jeff sleeping on the couch in the corner. "I was able to get him comfortable and put something on the burn to keep it clean. He needs to rest."

Kurt was surprised Jeff hadn't woken up from all the commotion. He must be in pretty bad shape. As soon as he got some more food in his stomach, he'd look at it too.

Feeling eyes on his back, Kurt realized that he had forgotten the other guys were with him, and he turned to introduce them to Nick.

"Nick, these are our classmates, Chuck, Chris and Matt. Guys, this is Nick and that's Jeff on the couch. These are the friends I was looking for at the shelter."

The guys waved and Nick waved back. "Where's Blaine?" Nick said as he craned his neck to see behind the group that was blocking the doorway.

Kurt's face dropped and he took a deep breath before he said, "I don't know. I think he was in Brooklyn at his piano lessons when this happened. I tried to get over the bridges to his apartment but they were destroyed from the incoming junk. It was terrible, Nick. I mean there was a giant hole in the deck of the Manhattan Bridge. The towers on the Brooklyn Bridge had collapsed. It was a dreadful sight."

Nick hugged Kurt again as he saw a tear leak from Kurt's eye and run down his cheek. "We'll find him, Kurt. He's probably at home, safe, but worried sick about you."

He let go of Nick and wiped the tears from his eyes. "I know we'll find him. Or he'll find us. It's Blaine. He has luck like no one else I've known. Things tend to just go his way," Kurt chuckled.

Nick laughed because it was true. Blaine had the most ridiculous good luck. He remembered one time back in high school when Blaine had stayed up all night learning his lines for a play they were doing instead of studying for a test. He was so focused on being off book that he hadn't remembered he had the test until the next morning and he panicked, trying to cram over breakfast. However, when they got to class, the teacher was out sick and the test was postponed until the next day, which was a Monday, so he ended up having the whole weekend to study. Things like that didn't happen, but they happened to Blaine.

The guys went to gather up whatever they could find from the dressing rooms, Kurt excused himself to use the bathroom and then they met back in the room they had found Nick in to split their bounty. There was a lot of different fruit, some granola bars, Rice Krispy Treats, candy, gum, a few different boxes of cereal, some heat up meals in a can and various bags of chips and crackers. They split it all between them and put it in their bags for later.

Kurt popped the top on a microwaveable can of soup and ate it at room temperature. He was too hungry to seek out a microwave. He polished off the soup and he could feel his blood sugar returning to a normal level. Matt had said that were cases of bottled water in the closet in the green room downstairs, so he made it a point to try and remember to load up on some before they left the theater, whenever that may be.

After eating and using the bathroom again, Kurt found a couch in one of the adjacent dressing rooms. He pulled a blanket off a nearby chair and used it to wrap around himself. It's not that he was cold, but the blanket was a layer of comfort and protection for him. He looked at his phone again one last time before he plugged it in to charge it while they still had electricity.

Kurt knew he needed to get some rest, but he was having trouble falling asleep because he was so worried about Blaine. How could he possibly rest until he knew Blaine was safe? Where would he even begin to look for him? It had been almost 24 hours that he had been awake and pretty soon he had no choice but to succumb to the exhaustion. He feel into a fitful sleep.

Blaine needed to gather his wits about him now that he was topside because he had been so focused on getting to Manhattan that he had no idea where he was going once he was there. He knew that he needed to get out of the lower part of the city though before another wave of water took him out for good. He had figured out why all the water had washed down into the subway. Big pieces of the asteroid that had broken off were crashing into the river and sending tidal waves of water into the streets and down into the subway stations.

Without stopping to form a plan, Blaine headed north towards the center of the city where the elevation was higher and he'd be less likely to encounter tidal waves. He was still soaking wet and he'd eventually have to stop and change. All of his extra clothes were packed in sealed Ziploc bags in his backpack, so they should still be dry. He didn't have time to stop and look though. All the streets in that part of the city were wet, which meant the water was coming up that high during each wave.

The squishing noise coming from his shoes would have normally bothered him but he was so happy to be where he needed to be and alive, that he didn't even care. Water was dripping off of the now freed curls on his head and down onto his nose. He moved through the streets quickly, and it appeared that that part of the city had been hit hard. Dodging pieces of buildings and cars that were abandoned, he looked ahead to see that the tops of buildings were still on fire but the lower halves were all wet. The water seemed to have washed away any ash. That had been a huge issue for him in Brooklyn; he could barely breathe from all the ash in the air. Cleaning out his nasal passages with subway water had improved his breathing greatly, even though just thinking about that made him want to heave.

Blaine moved forward with a singular thought on his mind- Kurt. He needed to have the man he loved wrapped in his arms again. If he had to move abandoned cars and dodge rogue waves, he would do it, just so he could find Kurt. He wasn't worried about moving north and missing him, as he was certain that Kurt wouldn't stay in this part of the city either. Kurt had been here for Superstorm Sandy last year and knew that everyone that lived below a certain street had been evacuated uptown. They had shelters set up in the Times Square area for those people that needed a place to stay.

Their school was too close to downtown for Kurt to have gone there, and the office that Kurt worked in for his internship wasn't much further north than their school. So that ruled out two places he would have potentially headed. As much as Kurt hated the sensory overload that was Times Square, that was probably the most logical place to start looking. Blaine was sure it was going to be even more of a madhouse than it usually was though. Great. It'd be like looking for a needle in a haystack. One super good looking needle…

Blaine heard that low rumbling sound again and knew he was in trouble. He looked up and saw another incoming piece of asteroid and it was headed towards the river. There was bound to be another wave following it shortly. Rounding the corner, he found a bike rack, unfastened his belt and refastened it around himself and the bike rack. Now he just had to hope that whomever installed the bike rack did a good job and it would hold under the pressure and that nothing smacked into him while he was anchored there.

The asteroid came in and hit the water with a sizzle. Blaine cinched the straps on his backpack tighter so it wouldn't wash away when the wave hit. He got as low to the ground as he could while staying fastened to the bike rack. He curled his head down and waited for the impact. It was almost worse knowing what was coming. Blaine was shaking and hugging his knees so hard that he was sure he was leaving a mark. Thoughts of Kurt filled his head so he wouldn't think about what was about to hit him.

He thought of how Kurt looked so peaceful when he slept, his eyelashes resting on his cheeks and his mouth in a perfect pout, of how much he loved the feeling of his arms around his body. They fit perfectly together, Blaine's head tucked into Kurt's shoulder. He thought about kissing him and how Kurt was never the one to deepen the kiss first unless he wanted more from Blaine. It was like the universal signal that Kurt wanted him when Blaine felt Kurt's tongue pressing against his lips and it had an immediate effect on Blaine's pants.

He thought about their first time together and how unsure they both were and how it should have been awkward and clumsy but it turned out to be amazing. They had both come so far since then and had grown together as a couple. They were getting married and moving in together and starting their lives together.

Blaine hunkered down as he heard the water coming. He was planning on holding his breath once he felt the first drops of water hit him. Since he was a singer, he had pretty good control over his breath and his diaphragm, so as long as nothing physically hit him as a result of the wave's force, he should be okay.

Blaine pictured the deep blue of Kurt's eyes staring back at him as the water washed over him. He was thrown against the bike rack with a force so great, he was sure he broke his wrist. Still holding his breath, he braced for the inevitable impact of something large that had been picked up with the wave. He just kept thinking of how much he loved Kurt and how determined he was to look into his blue eyes again. Those beautiful blue eyes that made it seem like everything would be okay.

Gasping for air, and realizing that he could breathe again, Blaine leaned his back against the rack and took a huge cleansing breath. He was alive. Nothing had hit him, although his wrist hurt badly. Hopefully it was just a bruise and not broken.

Kurt. Kurt is the one that got him through that. Even when they were separated, Kurt was there for him.

He readjusted himself and unlatched his belt from the bike rack. His backpack was still securely in place. His curls were getting longer from being so wet and he brushed them to the side of his forehead so he could see. This is why he used gel, to keep his pesky curls in line!

If he thought his shoes were wet and squishy before, they may as well be flippers at this point. It was imperative that he kept moving because he wasn't sure how many more of those waves he could handle and still be relatively unharmed. Plus, the longer they were separated, the more Kurt would worry. Blaine decided that Times Square might be far enough north to avoid any further wetness and he could stop for the night and regroup.

It was getting really late. He had no idea how late since he had turned his phone off and put it in a sealed bag in his backpack. It didn't really matter anyway, all that mattered was that he was getting really tired. He had been up since 6am and had been to a full day of classes plus work. He had a bag of cashews for dinner and had washed it down with a few hundred gallons of dirty subway water. He was ready to get to a place where he could stop and rest.

There was barely anyone on the street in this area and Blaine was hoping that it was because people had sought shelter and not because they had gotten washed away. He walked up past Houston Street and got a little sad as he saw that Rockwood Music Hall was dark, empty and lifeless. That place usually hosted about 10 shows a night from all sorts of musicians and it was eerie to see it so empty. At this time of night it would be hopping with the bar crowd. In fact, it was eerie to see New York, in general, this empty.

He trudged forward, soaking wet, miserable and growing increasingly more tired. His head ached and his wrist throbbed. He was trying to convince himself that it wasn't that much further, which he knew was a lie, but it made him feel a little better. Blaine wanted to find Kurt so badly that it had been all he had focused on. Until he remembered Times Square. Nick and Jeff!

"Geeze!" he said out loud to no one.

He had totally forgotten they were out there somewhere too. Now he felt terribly guilty on top of all the other feelings. Well, he definitely had to head towards Times Square to see if he could find those two. He couldn't just leave them stranded in a strange city. They could help him find Kurt. That sounded like a plan. Find all the boys!

The tiredness was definitely seeping into his every action. Blaine moved slower and his wrist throbbed so badly that he almost thought about stopping to wrap it. Then he remembered the reason his wrist hurt was from getting crushed by a giant wave and he pushed forward. He needed to get out of there before another wave hit. Time seemed to pass by more quickly when he thought of Kurt, so he tried to fill his mind with more happy memories.

Laughing to himself, he thought about the first time he ever saw Kurt really drunk. Usually, Kurt was the voice of reason in the group. He liked to stay sober and make sure that everyone got home okay and no one did anything too terribly stupid. However one night, Kurt had had a really terrible day at school and he needed to blow off some steam. He and Blaine had stopped for dinner at a place near school on the way home. When Kurt ordered a Cosmo with dinner, Blaine knew he must have had a bad day, because Kurt rarely drank. His drink came in a pink martini glass with a cherry skewered on a small sword as a garnish.

The place they chose for dinner was a casual place, nothing fancy and they had a booth towards the back. So Kurt must have felt like he could talk freely. As he nervously twirled the stick that had the cherry on it around his martini glass, he went on about this guy in class that had been bragging about his sex life and how he was teaching his boyfriend all this incredible stuff. It had made Kurt very uncomfortable, and he had tried to change the subject several times, to no avail.

Finally, Kurt had gotten angry and he'd asked the guy just exactly what he was trying to prove. The guy had laughed at him, actually laughed right in his face and said, "Geeze, Hummel, you are wrapped tight. Maybe I need to give you a few pointers too."

Apparently, Kurt had not come up with his usual snarky comeback, and instead, he had taken off down the hall and left the building. This had all happened on a break from class and he had stomped off and missed the second half of the lecture. After leaving class, Kurt had gone to Starbucks and had gotten some coffee until Blaine was done with his own class. Kurt had been fuming-he never wanted to go back to that class and have to face that guy again. What did he know about his sex life? It was just fine! FINE!

Blaine looked scared by then as Kurt finished his second Cosmo and was visibly shaken. He suggested they get the bill and go home. On the way out of the restaurant Kurt dragged Blaine over to the wall of the building they had just exited and pulled him into a sloppy kiss.

"Kurt, you've been drinking, sweetie. I love kissing you, but I think we need to get you home," Blaine said to him gently, as he tried to coax Kurt towards the subway station. Kurt stumbled forward and put his hands on his hips.

"No!" He yelled too loudly. "We are going out to a bar and we are going to have fun! Let's sing karaoke or Ooh! Better yet, let's go to a gay bar, a gay strip club! I'll show that guy how fun I can be!"

As much as Blaine had wanted to see Kurt in a gay strip club, he thought it might not be a wise idea in his current condition. Kurt was insistent that they go get another drink, so Blaine found a bar not too far from their subway stop and led them both in and to a table. Kurt ordered another Cosmo and Blaine just got a water. He needed to be there for Kurt, since he was pretty sure this was the first time Kurt had ever been drunk, and Kurt was, indeed, drunk.

Leaning his head on his arm, Kurt looked at Blaine, "We need to try some new stuff. Maybe we can Google it. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like what we're doing, but according to that guy in class, we are not doing the fun stuff." He took the cherry off the plastic sword in his glass and popped it into his mouth, stem and all.

Blaine held back a laugh. He was pretty sure what they had been doing so far was fun. He patted Kurt's other hand and said, "We can try whatever you want to try. I'm up for almost anything."

He was rewarded with a giant grin from Kurt and then the cherry stem, tied neatly into a knot by Kurt's tongue. As Kurt wobbled a little at the table, he brought the glass up to his lips and licked the rim. Blaine had to shift in his chair.

"Do you think I'm sexy, Blaine?" Kurt questioned.

"I think you are super sexy, Kurt"

"Do you want to do bad things with me?"

Blaine's mouth got dry. "Um, definitely, Baby"

Kurt swallowed down the rest of his drink, pulled some cash out of his wallet, slapped it down on the table and got up out of his chair.

Far too loudly Kurt yelled, "Then take me home and do bad things to me, Blaine!"

By then they had the attention of most people in the place, so Blaine got up from his chair, grabbed Kurt's hand and led him out of the bar. He turned back and waved to everyone still gawking at them. What did he care? He had a drunk Kurt on his hands and had to find a way to get him home.

Blaine decided that hailing a cab was far easier than helping Kurt down 4 flights of subway steps, through a turnstile, onto a train, then back up 3 flights of steps, down the street and to his apartment. They got in the cab and Kurt was immediately all over Blaine. His one hand was between Blaine's legs, his mouth attached to his neck and his leg pressed against Blaine's thigh.

Blaine wasn't sure whether he wanted to laugh at how out of character this was for Kurt or to be really turned on by his drunk boyfriend attacking him in the back of a taxi. Once they got to Blaine's apartment he got Kurt inside, made him use the restroom, and then dressed him for bed. He hoped Kurt wasn't so drunk that he ended up throwing up in his bed. He loved the man but- Eeeeew.

Kurt rolled on top of Blaine in bed and kissed his neck, while his hand weaved through his hair, loosening the gel and freeing the curls. Blaine loved this newfound boldness in Kurt but he knew it was just because of the alcohol. Hell, last time Blaine got this drunk, he was on top of Kurt in the back of a car too. That didn't end as well, though because Kurt got mad at his advances. He didn't want their first time together to be while Blaine was super drunk.

Kurt came up for air and whispered in Blaine's ear, "I want to use toys. Let's go buy toys!"

Blaine could barely breathe. His super conservative boyfriend wanted to use toys in bed. "Sure Kurt, we can go shopping tomorrow."

"No! Let's go now! There have to be places that are open. This is the city that never sleeps."

Blaine knew what getting shot down when you were drunk felt like, so he tried a different approach with Kurt. "But Kurt, honey, we are in bed together, mostly undressed and look at the state you have me in. I can't even walk let alone go into the city to shop."

Kurt looked down between them and Blaine could tell that he saw the outline of Blaine's erection through his thin pajama bottoms. Kurt smiled brightly. "OK, but first thing tomorrow- Brunch and toy shopping."

"Yes, first thing tomorrow," Blaine promised knowing good and well Kurt wouldn't be awake first thing tomorrow.

Kurt seemed content with that answer and then spent the next 20 minutes whispering into Blaine's ear all the dirty things he wanted to try. Blaine was so hard it hurt to breathe. He really hoped Kurt remembered all of this tomorrow and was still as willing to give it all a try.

He could feel Kurt fading, getting slowly more tired as the buzz wore off, and he snuggled him closer in his arms. Kurt gave Blaine little pecks on the lips, so softly and sweetly. Blaine loved the feeling and kissed him back on his cheek and his nose and his eyelids until Kurt had fallen asleep in his arms.

As Blaine emerged from the memory he realized that they still hadn't been toy shopping, and smirked. That was the first thing they'd be doing after this was all over.

Blaine was about to the point where he should be seeing the bright lights of Times Square but he didn't see anything. It was all dark. The power must have been out or they shut the billboards and lights off. He only had about two more blocks to go until he was at the bottom of Time Square. He pushed forward, determined to find a safe place to rest. He was feeling delusional from having been up for almost 24 hours straight. The sun would be coming up soon.

He could see the crowds of people ahead and decided he couldn't deal with that at the moment, so he took a street that ran parallel to it. His body was giving out fast and his wrist felt like it was ready to fall off. He found the first door he could find that he thought might be open, twisted the knob, went inside and collapsed in a heap on the cold cement floor.

**A/N- So I know I said I'd have this out quickly, but it's a long chapter and I had to redo it a couple of times. Thanks to my wonderful betas for giving me great feedback and pushing me to do better with each chapter. I hope you are enjoying the story so far. I bet you're glad I didn't kill off Blaine. At least not yet.. **** Thank you wonderful readers for reading my story. When I get a review it hits me that people are actually reading this and it's not just sitting out on the world wide web unnoticed. So thanks. It makes my day! **


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